Kakashi Unmasked
by xtranew
Summary: A chance encounter after a botched up mission leads to a series of unforeseen consequences. MPreg, ItaKaka.
1. Prologue : In Which They Meet Again

**Title:** Kakashi Unmasked

**Author:** xtranew

**Fiction Rated:** R

**Genre:** Action/Adventure/Romance

**Pairing:** ItachixKakashi

**Summary:** Things weren't supposed to end up this way. A chance encounter after a botched up mission leads to a series of unforeseen consequences. Two unlikely person had met and spent one passionate night together. Two months later, Kakashi found himself pregnant... with Uchiha Itachi's child.

**Warnings:** This fic will contain some spoilers (for those who didn't read the manga and only watch the anime, this is your last warning), strongly implied yaoi (ItaKaka), angst, and, of course, mpreg (later on). If you can't handle that, then don't read.

**Disclaimers:** Naruto is a Japanese manga created by Masashi Kishimoto, first published by Shueisha in Japan's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, with an anime TV series adaptation produced by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex. All trademarks and copyrights herein belong to someone else, so put that down before you break it.

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**Timeline and Background Story:** This fic took place one and a half year after Sasuke's retrieval arc. Since all his students had been more or less abducted/adopted by the Sannin and taken out of his protective (snickers!) care, Kakashi had thrown himself into danger on missions after missions. He didn't take on another team of rookie genins since Team Seven's, even considering gave up on being a jounin teacher and started up with ANBU again. But again he doesn't know what fate has in store for him...

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**Author's Notes:** I have revised the prologue and added a few things here and there, with many helps from my BETA readers. So this fic is now revised and beta'd. Thanks for my wonderful BETA readers; **Kiriko-sama**, **ariala**, and **DirtyD** that has made this story as readable as it is. Any other grammar/spelling errors were purely my own fault, do tell me if you see them. Please understand that this is my first attempt at writing a fic, plus English wasn't my native language.

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**KAKASHI UNMASKED**

**Prologue**

_In Which They Meet Again_

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Rain. Rain was pouring down from the sky heavily, drenching his jacket and uniform in the process, making his movement more difficult. Even though the rain had been a blessing in disguise for his mission, making his enemies hard pressed to find his trail in their pursuit, now he simply wished that it would stop. He cursed inwardly as he landed on another tree branch. Now there was another reason why he hated rain. Rain made everything slippery and reduced his sight vehemently. A flash of red suddenly appeared in his peripheral vision. That and the sudden increase in chakra around him. Not only one, but several chakra signals appeared.

The first thought, that came to his mind, was that the enemy nins had managed to catch his trail and decided to launch a suprise ambush, to catch him unprepared. Just as he readied himself for the encounter, he saw the red clouds sewn onto his opponent's black coats. Signaling that the chakra signals he sensed weren't just any enemy nins. They were worse than enemy nins actually, because aside from his injuries he could handle enemy nins just fine, but he probably couldn't handle Akatsuki in his condition, or any other condition so to speak.

A kunai was thrown soundlessly in his direction. Only his quick reflexes enabled him to avoid it---_barely._ Several chakra strings aimed for the kill came at him next. Focusing more chakra at his feet, he was barely able to dodge them all, only to have his head almost sliced off by a huge sword. Survival instinct kicked in, instead of avoiding the huge sword, he managed to synchronize his movement with the sword's powerful swing. Using the sword's movement to gain momentum, he let his body to be swayed away from the sword until he landed safely on the muddy ground.

Several chuckles could be heard from his attackers, confirming his earlier suspicion about being surrounded and the number of his enemies. "Well done, I certainly didn't expect you to dodge all of our attacks, but you certainly proved me wrong." A man with the pale skin and reddish-brown hair emerged from the shadows.

"Just as would be expected from the famous Copy Ninja, don't you think?" A blond-haired man appeared on the another side of his partner.

"He's just lucky." A man whose face resembled a shark made his presence known. All three of them wearing black robes, decorated with the infamous red clouds.

_Wasn't this just peachy?_ Three S-Class missing-nins from the underworld criminal organization known as Akatsuki. Sasori, Deidara, and Kisame. Could this day be any worse? Maybe Itachi will join his friends and make a joint attack at him?

_Speak of the devil and he will come for you. _

"Don't underestimate him," came a calm and flat voice, devoid of emotion, from above him. Snapping his head up Kakashi saw a black haired man wearing a scratched Konoha head protector appeared on an overhanging tree branch. Despite the poor lighting Kakashi recognized him instantly.

The black haired man's face held a great resemblance to the face of his former student turned traitor of Konoha, Uchiha Sasuke, but this man was older and---though he would never said aloud---more frightening. THE Slayer of the Uchiha Clan himself, one of the most wanted men in Konoha history, Uchiha Itachi. In that instant his memory brought forth images of a earlier horrific event involving 72 hours of ghastly pain. This situation just became much more life-threatening. He sincerely wished for a hoard of enemy jounin ninjas over his newest opponents, that he had a higher chance of survival despite his injuries.

Knowing that he wouldn't be leaving unscathed tonight, and that would be assuming he still survive after fighting four dangerous S-Class missing-nins, who were probably even stronger than himself, Kakashi prepared himself for the inevitable. "I'm flattered that four of the Akatsuki members decided to grace me with their presence." He said in a sarcastic tone, he wasn't flattered---far from it, tired and horrified were more descriptive feelings that filled him with inner turmoil. "But what did I do to attract your attention? In case you haven't noticed I didn't bring anything worthwhile with me. Unless you read Icha Icha Paradise.." Kakashi trailed off, his visible eye widened slightly with disbelief. _They wouldn't take his beloved novel, would they?_

"Nah, we don't have any special agenda in mind for you Copy Ninja, just thought that you could give us a decent fight. It's been so long since we've had one after all." Saying this the red haired man who he identified as Akasuna no Sasori, missing-nin from the Village Hidden In The Sand, readied his puppets and without any warning attacked.

_'Oh, wonderful. They think so highly of me, that I'll be just a way to entertain them. Entertainment disguised as a decent sparring match that's it,' _Kakashi groaned inwardly. Dodging Sasori's attacks he readied himself to counter them. His mind automatically thinking up many possible ways to defeat the puppets, as the result from his years of training. _'Let's see. My weapon arsenal is low. I've sustained injuries from my previous mission. Not to mention there are four of them. I don't think they would let me live even if I somehow managed to beat Sasori. So my survival rate is... admittedly low.' _

Despite all of this Kakashi proved to be a worthy opponent. Without his Sharingan eye activated, he managed to read Sasori's attacks and provided some counter measures of his own. Frustrated with the Copy Ninja, who had deflected all his puppetry techniques and wasn't showing signs of going down anytime soon, Sasori gave a loud cry as he launched his final attack, _"Aka Higi : Hyakki no Souen!"_ Sasori removed a summoning scroll from his back. Opening his right chest compartment he emitted one hundred chakra strings, all reaching into the scroll. From the scroll, one hundred human puppets emerged, each one a defeated and converted opponent from Sasori's previous battles. Forced now only to obey the man's whims and orders.

Kakashi's visible eye widened. This attack is different from all previous ones Sasori used. There is no way for him of escaping the attack without being severally harmed. _Except..._ Deciding his next course of action Kakashi activated his bloodline, one that he had successfully kept hidden during his years as a _tensai_ shinobi of Konoha. A bloodline that many thought had never existed in the first place, overshadowed by Sharingans and Byakugans. For a while Kakashi's form flickered before an immense explosion erupted.

Itachi, who was watching the fight with detached interest, now became shocked at the turn of events. No one, at least no enemy had ever survived Sasori's ultimate attack before. As far as he knew, only the Leader of Akatsuki and he himself had survived it. But it was clear that Kakashi was able withstand it and managed to somehow turn the tables in his favor. Not wasting a moment the Copy Ninja stabbed right through Sasori's chest, impaling the biological core that kept him alive, and effectively killing the man. In just a matter of seconds all three of Akatsuki members were left in stunned silence. They of course had heard tales about the famous Copy Ninja of Konoha, but never did they expect him capable of taking one of them down in an one-on-one fight.

Kakashi staggered on his feet for a few steps after dispatching Sasori. His success was made with a great deal of sacrifice. He was low on chakra and just barely able to keep himself standing. Sasori had landed some good blows on him and injured him badly. With his previous injuries added on top, he wasn't sure how long before he would collapse. Let alone fight the three remaining members of Akatsuki.

"Imposibble!" Deidara said, finaly broken the silence. "How did he come up with a way to deflect Sasori's ultimate attack when _no one_ succeeded before?"

There was no sadness or remorse from the other three Akatsuki members for the loss of their comrade. They had severed their ties to their former comrades and families. Their scratched forehead protectors indicated that they no longer gave any allegiance to their former homes. Each of them joined Akatsuki for their own reasons. Each member thus far had sworn complete loyalty to the faction and to their mysterious Leader, but nothing has been shown to indicate that they considered each other comrades. There was no need to build any kind of relationship with one another, more than the necessary.

Sasori's death by itself didn't seem to bother them, but rather the fact that someone was _able_ to _kill _him.

A wicked grin slowly spread upon Deidara's face. "He is mine, yeah," he said with relish. Readying his weapons, he eagerly set out to fight the one who managed to beat Sasori.

"No." The flat and chilling tone from Uchiha Itachi halted Deidara in his steps. "I'm the one who will take him. Both of you better go now and report to our Leader about the success of our mission and the loss of our comrade."

No one dared to argue with Itachi. He is their strongest and most dangerous member, not even their Leader has the power to best him in battle. He is too strong, too_ inhumane_. So Deidara sheathed his weapons and turned to leave, but Kisame wasn't as easily swayed. "Itachi, you know we were expected to report in about a week's time right?"

"I know and I will be there when the time comes," Itachi answered, not bothering to spare Kisame a glance.

Kisame nodded. There was no need to stay any longer. Itachi made his decision quite clear. Kisame turned and followed Deidara, who had already left a few moments ago.

Somehow being left with only one Akatsuki member didn't ease Kakashi's worries. Instead they were increased. Who knows what Itachi has in plan for him? At least with the others present he knew that the worse thing happening would be himself being beaten to death.

"It's not nice to send your friends away you know?" Kakashi said, hoping to break the tangible silence that was starting to suffocate him.

"They aren't my friend," Itachi replied, still observing him with his Sharingan eyes.

Kakashi sighed, pushing his forehead protector up so his lone Sharingan eye was now visible. He needed all the advantage he could get, if he was going last long against Itachi. A small voice in the back of his head already spoke of the doubt that he would survive this fight, Sharingan, or no.

"Well, let's begin shall we?" With this exclamation Kakashi moved and attacked.

Kakashi was fast, faster than many shinobi he encountered and killed in all of his fights, but his injured state and near-non-existant chakra levels clearly gave him the disadvantage. It didn't take long for Itachi to gain the upper hand. Kakashi's Sharingan didn't seem to be any help this time. Itachi's Sharingans were far more superior than his single Sharingan eye. Though to his confusion Itachi didn't use his Magenkyou Sharingan this time around. It didn't make fighting him easier, Itachi seemed to have read his every move thus making all his attacks ineffective. Kakashi knew since the beginning what the outcome of this battle would be. This was a battle he could _never_ hope to win. His injuries aside he doubted he could beat Itachi in top form. Can't fault him for trying anyway.

So when he was finally forced to his hands and knees, waiting for Itachi to land the final blow, the ones that would undoubtedly end his life, Itachi surprised him when the missing-nin decided to knock him out with a strike to the back of his neck. "What...?" He trailed off, not understanding the reason _why_ Itachi didn't simply kill him.

"You are more useful for me when you're alive," was the last thing Kakashi heard before slipping into unconsciousness.

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**Naruto's Encyclopedia:**

_Sunagakure no Sato_ (literally "Village Hidden In The Sand") is one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, located in the Land of Wind.

_Aka Higi : Hyakki no Souen_ (literally "Red Secret Technique : Performance of a Hundred Puppets") is a S-Rank _Kugutsu no Jutsu _(literally "Finger by Finger Technique") used by Sasori.

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Comments and constructive criticisms are appreciated. New ideas would be welcomed as well. Don't hesitate to tell me if I did a lousy work. I'm new and I still need to learn a lot!


	2. In The Rainy Night And The Starless Sky

**Warnings:** This fic will contain some spoilers (for those who didn't read the manga and only watch the anime, this is your last warning), strongly implied yaoi (ItaKaka), angst, and, of course, mpreg (later on). If you can't handle that, then don't read.

**Additional Warnings: **This chapter was the reason why I rated this fic as "M". This is one of the most important chapters in this fic, how was Kakashi able to get pregnant if there was no intercourse? I've read and agreed to abide the guidelines when I joined, and I won't violate it now. If some parts didn't flow together smoothly, it's because I had to cut out a LOT to _avoid being banned from FF. Net. _

**Disclaimers:** Naruto is a Japanese manga created by Masashi Kishimoto, first published by Shueisha in Japan's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, with an anime TV series adaptation produced by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex. All trademarks and copyrights herein belong to someone else, so put that down before you break it.

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**Author's Notes:** I have revised the prologue and added a few things here and there (don't forget to check it), with many helps from my BETA readers. So this fic is now revised and beta'd. Thanks for my wonderful BETA readers; **Kiriko-sama**, **ariala**, and **DirtyD** that has made this story as readable as it is. Any other grammar/spelling errors were purely my own fault, do tell me if you see them. Please understand that this is my first attempt at writing a fic, plus English wasn't my native language.

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**KAKASHI UNMASKED**

**Chapter 1**

_In The Rainy Night And The Starless Sky_

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Itachi observed the unconscious jounin in his arms, when he sat on one of the rocks in a decently sized cavern near the forest area where he had fought Kakashi earlier. He had tended the visible and fatal wounds, which the jounin sustained from his previous fights, with the use of medical jutsu he had copied from one Iwa-nin (no, not Deidara, the ex Iwa-nin couldn't even bandage his own wound properly). He didn't really understand why he did it. Yet, he didn't want Kakashi to die, not when he finally managed to have Kakashi alone for himself. He had been observing the Copy Ninja since he was just a teenager, being one of the few who actually knew the Copy Ninja's true age. It was one the best kept secrets in Konoha. The Copy Ninja was actually just three years older than himself. Kakashi had entered Academy when he was four and a half years old, making him the youngest ninja in Konoha's history, graduated only half a year later, made chuunin at six, jounin at eight, and finally ANBU at twelve.

He had strived to surpass Kakashi's records. Itachi had entered the Academy at six, being the one of only a handful of people who actually graduated from Academy at the young age of seven, made chuunin at nine, then jounin at ten, and just like Kakashi entered ANBU's ranks at twelve. However, Kakashi had already resigned from ANBU, and was listed back as a jounin by then. The only thing Itachi could hold over his head, was that he had made an ANBU captain before the other had. He had broken another record---he was the youngest ANBU captain ever, being only thirteen at the time. No one else, not even the famed Hatake Kakashi had achieved such a status. Itachi felt a childish surge of pride at the slight victory over the other man. Yet even that… even that had been because Kakashi had left for a long vacation to God-only-knew-where and the ANBU were strapped for personnel. Itachi also suspected that his clan had pressured the ANBU to make him captain.

_'My clan. My clan… is a disgrace to Konoha. Everything I do… I do for them. Everything I've done… has been because of them. My clan… '_

Itachi scoffed silently. His clan, did not trust him. They were forever fawning over him, fussing over his age, praising him for the pride he brought to the Uchiha name. But they did_ not _trust him. He had seen many, cousins and uncles, who had cowered away from him. Lately, after his promotion as ANBU… even his parent…

They didn't understand him. Not his mother, and certainly not his father. They didn't trust their _own_ son. The only one... the only one who trusted him... the only one who was never scared of him was Sasuke, his younger brother. He didn't know if he should be angry at the six year old kid for being completely unafraid of a teenager's brother, who had massacred hundreds and had the blood of countless persons on his arms. But he did know he was _glad_ for the kid.

Although at the end of the day, Sasuke was just that, a kid. A snotty-nosed, crybaby brat who knew nothing of the world. Strangely, Itachi was glad for_ that _as well. He did not want his brother to become_ like _him. Hell, he did _not _want to be him too. But he had no choice. He was the clan's tool, and as such it was his fate till his death.

When all was said and done though, he was still only _thirteen _back then. No matter how advanced his body was, his mind had not yet matured. He craved approval. So he had done all that he could to strive towards being the best, until the time, when those glances of approval had turned into fearful stares. In fact, he found that his clan's approval could not sate his appetite anymore.

He wanted companionship. He wanted, not acknowledgment, but understanding.The life of a _tensai_ shinobi was never easy. But he had thought… he had thought that in Hatake Kakashi, he had perhaps, found a kindred spirit. They were so _alike_, in so many ways.

Coming out of his childhood reverie he looked down at the unconscious ninja beside him. Itachi found himself enraptured at the sight. He removed Kakashi's jounin vest and the various weapons hidden in the clothing. The man's shirt and pants were the next items to follow. He untied the silver haired jounin's forehead protector, letting it slip to the ground with a loud clang. Kakashi's dark mask was the last article that needed to be removed.

Pulling it off, Itachi's breath hitched in his throat at the sight of Kakashi's uncovered face. A beautiful face with long eyelashes on closed lids, dark against the pale skin, hiding the other ninja's mismatched eyes. Still yet, the face held a pert and long nose, a pink mouth that begged to be kissed, and skin so pale that it reflected the moon's luminous rays. The beautiful face was only marred by a long scar, that ran down over the closed lids of Kakashi's left eye, none-the-less it only made him appear more attractive. Kakashi was _stunning._ Itachi never thought that a more beautiful man, than Kakashi, existed in Fire Country.

Itachi's gaze lowered down Kakashi's body. A body that was well hidden beneath the bulky clutter of the jounin uniform. He frowned when he noticed a genjutsu seal, activated beneath Kakashi's navel. He tried a simple release genjutsu counter spell which didn't have any effect to the seal. Whoever created the seal surely knew what he was doing. But Itachi wasn't called the genius from Uchiha Clan for nothing. It took him a few tries and some time to finally undo the seal. The seal simmered briefly before vanishing completely. Once again, Itachi had been caught unprepared at the sight before him.

The slender, lithe, and finely muscled body of Hatake Kakashi revealed itself. Slender hips, long sinewy legs, it was nothing like the well trained male body that Kakashi presented before the seal was undone. This body was lean and lithe but no less powerful. It simply wasn't something Itachi expected to see. Such strength hidden beneath the seemingly effeminate body of this beautiful man.

Slowly, a predatory grin appeared on Itachi's face. "Seems like I'm not the only one who likes to keep secrets." He contemplated the new discovery as he ran his hands over Kakashi's body. Stroking his fingers down the silver haired man's stomach, quickly dipping his thumb into the navel, and lightly petting Kakashi's legs. It all felt silky smooth. He had never realized that a man's skin could feel so soft. Kakashi's body was flawless. Well, as nearly as flawless as a ninja's body could be. There were a few scars that all ninjas gained from their line of work. He could see some purple and blue bruises on the man's bare legs and chest, a long slash from his left shoulder to his elbow, and some cuts on his right forearm. Though the bleeding had long stopped, and none of the wounds seemed infected.

A soft whimper came from Kakashi's throat as Itachi's caresses became more bold. Pausing, just long enough to cast a binding jutsu, not that he thought Kakashi would able to escape given the jounin's weak condition, he simply wanted to remain undisturbed while continuing his explorations. Itachi moved his left hand slowly down Kakashi's pale throat and chest while leaving his groin unattended, for the moment, to use his right hand to caress over Kakashi's thighs. That too was just perfect, unbroken skin. Sliding his hand down, he stroked along the man's inner thigh, before his hand turned to caress between the legs. He stopped then. As much as he enjoyed touching Kakashi like this, he wanted to see Kakashi's reactions while the jounin was awake.

Slowly, Kakashi began to regain consciousness. Long eyelashes fluttered open, revealing his puzzled mismatched eyes. His heightened senses, a result from years of training as shinobi, kicked in, assessing every possibilities the situation he was in presented. He found that he couldn't move. It seemed that someone casted a binding jutsu on him. To his dismay, Kakashi found he couldn't break the jutsu. His nearly non-existing chakra didn't help matters. His other senses began to stir up bit by bit. He shivered as he felt the cold night air hit his naked body. Whoa... wait a minute... _NAKED?_ Kakashi didn't remember stripping out of his clothing. The last thing he remembered was his battle with Sasori and then Itachi. _Itachi!_ At his last memory came back, with them he began to renew his struggle to escape the binding.

"Don't bother. It is impossible for you to break my binding jutsu," came from the voice of his captor.

Kakashi swallowed and turned to face his captor. "Release me!" He demanded.

Ignoring Kakashi's demand, Itachi lifted and placed the other man on his lap. Kakashi's eyes widened, he hadn't been expecting Itachi to cradle him on his lap. If anything he had been greatly surprised Itachi didn't begin to torture him until he found himself on the brink of death. The raven haired man moved a single hand up and down Kakashi's bared stomach, tracing circles on the place where his genjutsu seal was before. Bile started to rise up in Kakashi's throat at this gesture. '_He knows.' _In instant, panicked thoughts filled him.

As if he could read Kakashi's mind, Itachi gave a little smile. Not that the silver haired man could see it, from his position on Itachi's lap anyway. "Yes Kakashi, I find it interesting that you have succeeded in tricking your friends and colleagues, for all this time. Even with my Sharingan I couldn't have even seen the illusion you casted upon yourself. Although I can understand why you would do so."

Kakashi closed his eyes. Out of all people he ever expected to find out about his true form, he never thought Itachi to be one of them. "What do you want, Itachi?" He asked wearily.

Instead of answering, Itachi trailed his hand down Kakashi's chest, lightly brushing the erect nipple he found on his journey downward. He brushed the other man's slender hips, hips women would kill to have, his upper legs, and continued sliding his hand down to Kakashi's inner thigh. _'Oh my, you have to be kidding me,'_ was Kakashi's first thought as the missing-nin made his intentions crystal clear. His heart pounding inside his chest at the things the Uchiha was doing to him. He wanted to put a stop to this, but... _ could he? _Kakashi is one of the best sninobi Konoha has ever had. He fought and won many battles, but Itachi proved to be better and stronger than him. Their earlier fight showed that. Despite the emotional part of his mind was panicking and screaming at him to scramble free, the logical part of his mind told him that picking a fight with the Uchiha in his current state wasn't smart. Not to mention impossible. At this moment, he wouldn't put it past Itachi to hurt him if provoked. Hell, _what_ should he _expect_ from the guy who slaughtered his whole clan in just one night?

Kakashi was trying to control his gradually hyperventilating breath, as the Uchiha's hand lavished his body with unwanted attention. All he could do was sit back and hope that this would be over soon.

His thoughts were cut short when Itachi's hand began to caress between his legs. Kakashi shivered and moaned out a soft breathy whisper, the man's name. His head rolled back of it's own accord despite his reticence as he enjoyed the caresses.

Kakashi was a virgin. He had been keeping this a secret for as long as he could remember. He created a illusion of the perfect and _very manly _jounin to compensate for his effeminate form. He even read Icha Icha Paradise in public to keep up his lecherous image, not that he really minded. The truth was no one,_ no one _had _ever_ touched him in such a sensual _and_ private manner before, be it his legs, or _any _other parts of his body. The sudden rush and intensity of this new experience was difficult to handle, but being incapacitated and restrained from movement, made him unable to resist his body's reactions to Itachi's caresses. Add to the fact that there was one part of him that was _refusing_ to stay down…

Itachi gave a small smile as he heard Kakashi whisper his name softly. Bringing his hand up, the Uchiha rubbed his palm over the heated flesh, doing little else other than admiring the way the jounin's flushed face now looked, still not laying a finger on the man's erection as he just played with him. "Say it so I can hear it, or this is all you get."

"Please... stop... I-Itachi." He tried in futile attempts to squirm and tilt his hips away to escape of the man's hand. Kakashi couldn't comprehend the sheer sensuality of the skin-on-skin contact. It was more than he had ever experienced in all of his years of celibacy. This is too much, _too much _for him to handle.

"That's not the answer I expected to hear." Itachi said as he squeezed, hard.

Kakashi gave a loud cry. He had never been so aroused in his twenty-three years of his life. He was so hard that it was beginning to hurt. He _didn't_ exactly_ know _what he was afraid of. Was he scared of the shame brought that came with becoming aroused by this confrontation? Was he afraid of what Itachi would think of him? Of what the others would think, if they ever found out? Or was he afraid of his own feelings? That he might, on some primal level, hidden deep down in his subconscious, actually LIKE this? Liked being manhandled by Itachi in such a strange, forceful, yet oddly affectionate manner? Was he afraid of merely acknowledging that?

Unable to control the sudden rush of emotions that welled up inside him. Kakashi can only gave one throaty whisper, "Please... please... touch... me... Itachi."

"That's it." Reward and punishment would definitely be the key in making all of this work. He would probably have to dole out some punishments later on, but for now Itachi was perfectly willing to give the jounin his reward for doing exactly as he asked. Glad that Kakashi was finally giving in, he brought his free hand to wrap around the man's length and slowly stroked over his erection. "Call my name," he demanded from Kakashi, while he kept his steady stroking and squeezing on the man's length.

Kakashi complied with a more desperate call of the Uchiha's name. His breathing starting to hitch and waver with every stroke of his arousal. It was true, Kakashi left himself to the mercy of Itachi's talented hands, but now it became _mutual,_ he _had given _Itachi _his consent._ To give that up and simply bend to Itachi's lusty wills was turning him in ways he never thought possible.

Kakashi shivered. He was now totally nude, aroused, and at Itachi's complete mercy.

Itachi continued to work his hand over Kakashi's organ with a hard pace while he let his eyes travel over the other man's body. The way he twitched and his cheeks flushed were telltale signs of his surrender. The passion was _real_... and it was completely in his hands to do with as he would. Smirking softly, he leaned his body forward to just whisper in the other man's ear an order to let go. Saying nothing other than his name, Kakashi obeyed. At this, Itachi released the binding jutsu he casted earlier on Kakashi.

It was an easy request that followed quickly on the heels of the command. Kakashi lifted slightly off of Itachi's thigh and pushed himself eagerly against the man's hand. Itachi's rough caresses were so pleasantly different and arousing that it unlocked his submission and his willingness to agree. Crying out with an animalistic moan, Itachi's name tumbled from his lips in a litany of whimpers and pleas. Along with his cries, his release came quickly and with incredible force.

Still working his fingers over the jounin's length, Itachi leaned forward to capture Kakashi's lips, plundering his mouth with his tongue. A whimper of surprise sounded from the silver haired man. Kakashi was surprised that Itachi would kiss him, but he knew the Uchiha would do as he pleased. The raven haired man's kiss was demanding and forceful. He couldn't help but respond to the unspoken command to return it. Kakashi's tongue tangled helplessly with Itachi's, as his body continued to jerk from the final remnants of his passion.

Fully spent, Kakashi should have tried to struggle from his captor's hold. But a bigger part of him wanted it, wanted to feel more of Itachi's caresses.

Resist. Resist. _Resist._

It was an ongoing chant in his mind that continued to fade into nothingness the longer Itachi's lips moved over his. Whether it was a thirst for companionship or a hunger to slake his long neglected desire, Kakashi didn't know, but he relished the closeness of another body behind him. The warm hands that cradled his body close, and the soft strokes of Itachi's fingers on his most private area.

Feeling Kakashi's trembles and shakes slowly subdue, Itachi eased up the pressure of the kiss before breaking it completely. Sweeping his gaze over the man's body, he lifted a sticky hand from the man's groin and wiped it on his pants. His other hands now slowly traced Kakashi's face, lingering on the outline of the scar covering Kakashi's left Sharingan eye, before stopping at Kakashi's lips. He held out two of his fingers before commanding Kakashi. "Suck them."

Kakashi stared at the fingers for a moment. He didn't think Itachi would react well if he said no, and he wasn't in a condition to fight back. Hesistantly he began to lick Itachi's fingers. Taking it slowly he gave a few tentative licks before finally began to suck them. Itachi watched as the jounin licked and sucked his two fingers. A soft and pink tongue darted in and out between the times Kakashi sucking and letting his fingers in and out from his mouth. As much as he loved to watch Kakashi, he became aware of his gradually added aching hardness.

Swiftly, he changed their positions. It caught Kakashi off guard. One moment he was sitting on Itachi's lap sucking the missing-nin's fingers, the next moment he was laying flat on his back with Itachi seated between his legs. Without waiting for the older ninja's reaction at this sudden change, Itachi made sure his two fingers coated with enough saliva to act as a lubricant before bringing that hand down to Kakashi's backside to prepare the man .

A gasp came unbidden from Kakashi's lips and he froze. The silver haired man watched in abject horror, unable to look away as his most private and intimate area was ruthlessly invaded. He felt one of Itachi's fingers circled lightly at his entrance before pushing in, intruding into the part of his body where no one touched before.

Oh, Kakashi _knew_ about man on man sex. Ninjas were notorious, for being bad gossipers. They led a dangerous life, where their life was at stake and could end at any moment in dangerous missions. Even the missions which were carefully planned out could go horribly wrong. That was why they would often seek comfort from each other. The lack of female ninjas, made many ninjas seek comfort from their own gender. Kakashi knew a few male nin couples who became closer then just mere friends, or fuck buddies. They didn't flaunt their relationships in public. But when sake was involved they tended to be very open and descriptive about their relationships in disturbing details, that Kakashi found he could go on without.

_No,_ Kakashi didn't frown upon them. He understood the need to be close to another human being, that sometimes arose in life threatening situations, and lonely nights with only missions to look forward to the next morning. At times he briefly considered taking a partner to ease his pain and his loneliness, but doing that _wouldn't _solve any of his problems. He refused to use sex as a way to escape from his problems.

Being jounin instructor for Team Seven eased some of his loneliness. At first he was surprised that the latest group of genin brats actually passed his bell test---a test which originally was devised by Sandaime Hokage, who used this as a means to test his three students, who later became known as the three Legendary Sannin. Kakashi has done his best to avoid being a teacher for most of his life, by using that test and taking it to the next level of difficulty. He was never really accustomed to failure and that had worked wonderfully too, that is, _until _Team Seven came along. His sensei had once said that his power of observation was top-notch, so he observed his first and only genin team that passed his bell test.

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke.

They didn't seem to like each other, but there was a sort of respect in their eyes when they looked at each other. That would do for the time being. First there should be trust; all other things spring from that. They would yell at him when he showed up three hours late and he would ruffle their hair---the blond one first, because he needs the affection, the raven one second because he needs to lighten up a bit, and the pink one last because she is probably the most well-adjusted of the three (which isn't saying much), also because she is the least likely to attack him when he does it.

They would grumble and bitch at him when he did it, but they would smile too, and Kakashi thought that maybe this teaching thing _wasn't_ so _bad_ after all.

Even if from time to time, he would seriously consider strangling all three of them. (Who can blame him? Between a bouncing blond ball of excessive energy chanting "Hokage, hokage!" over and over and _over_ again, a constantly brooding Uchiha boy who always generating "I'm-holier-than-thou-so-you're-better-not-get-in-my-way" attitude, and a love-struck pink haired girl---sometimes he _resisted _the urge to fall down on his knees, bang his head on the ground a few times while he was at it, and beg for forgiveness from Yondaime for putting up with his attitudes _when_ he was a brat.) Strangely enough, he found himself growing fond of them. As the time went by he finally admitted---internally of course, there is no way in Heaven or Hell he would admit it out loud---that he dearly loved all three of his students and hoped he could help them to achieve their goal.

Only that _wasn't_ the case.

Sasuke was the first from Team Seven who actually leave Konoha to become Orochimaru's lackey. Next was Naruto who left to train, for an undecided amount of time, with Jiraiya. Lastly, Sakura went to train under Godaime Hokage's guidance. He was happy to watch his students grow up, but the pain and the loneliness came back. In the end he would always be left _alone._

Thus, when Itachi touched him, treated him with an oddly affectionate way, he found himself clinging to it. Deprived enough to want to feel more of his touch, his caresses, his kisses, his presence. It's funny, from all of the men in the world, he would find his release with his enemy. Somehow, Kakashi figured the fates were laughing and giving him the finger somewhere.

Waiting until he felt the silver haired man relaxed once more, his body no longer tense and rigid, Itachi turned his hand a bit to let a slicked finger invade into Kakashi's body. The jounin may be nervous and try to shy away from his touch, but Itachi had made his intentions clear. Ready or not, willing or not, he intended to occupy the tight space with more than just a finger. He continued to push his finger in and out of the silver haired man, wedging in another one after a few strokes.

Kakashi inhaled sharply at the intrusion, but didn't retreat or look to be in real pain. It did feel odd and it hurt so much, but he could handle a lot more pain than that.

The raven haired man kissed and sucked lightly at his soon to be lover's inner thighs while his fingers slowly work further inward. When his fingers finally came across mushy softness, he was rewarded with a near kick to the groin from Kakashi's physical reaction to the sudden spike of pleasure.

"Wha...?" was all Kakashi could manage at first.

"Did I hit a special spot?" Itachi asked him back.

After staring at Itachi suspiciously for a moment, Kakashi rested his head back once more with a quiet sound of agreement.

Itachi kept his fingers moving with a relentless pace until he felt the jounin was ready enough, knowing he himself was more than ready. Withdrawing his fingers, he placed his hands on the man's hips to position him better, spreading the jounin's legs on either side of his waist. He slipped his hands under Kakashi's thighs and pressed them up towards the man's chest.

Grabbing hold of Kakashi's waist he didn't hesitate to thrust into the silver haired man to the hilt, head dropping back with a groan of appreciation at the fiery hot tightness encasing him.

Raw fire seemed to engulf him centering from where Itachi's body joined his. Kakashi's body arched, welcoming the rough intrusion. It was a heat that went beyond the pain and the rawness he felt. It was the feeling of being stuffed full, being stretched and invaded by an organ too big for him and nearly rending him in half.

As it always did, the initial feel of the body welcoming him in and gripping his full length nearly reduced the usually stoic Uchiha to a passion-crazed frenzy, wanting nothing more than to pound mercilessly into his lover's willing body. Normally he would succumb to his urges, not waiting until his partner to voice their agreement for the rougher treatment. But Kakashi wasn't another faceless women or men he had fucked just to satisfy his needs. Kakashi was a real person, a _worthy_ opponent, the one he secretly adored when he was just a child. To finally have the silver haired jounin beneath him like this... It was a complete and pure bliss.

There was no sudden realization of love, or happily ever after for Itachi. Yet as he looked down at his new lover, he felt relieved to see the lack of pain in Kakashi's expression, it appeared more to be something bordering on deep concentration. He waited for a few moments for Kakashi to adjust from the foreign organ, which invaded the opening that wasn't meant to this invasion. The squeezing pressure, the amazing heat for one so cold, the realization of being deep inside a worthy opponent... At that moment Itachi knew that the man was his. His to fuck, his to use, and his to kill.

The Uchiha used his grip to pull the jounin harder onto him as he pumped his own hips in and out of the silver haired man's body. _It hurts,_ oh God it hurts so _much. _Yet Kakashi could also feel small sparks of pleasure as Itachi set a steady rhythm thrusting in and out of his body. It all changed when Itachi hit a pleasure spot deep inside him however. A pleasure spot that he himself never knew existed. A spot that made him see stars and almost come when Itachi continued hitting it repeatedly.

As Kakashi gave himself over to his captor and cried out his name in abandonment, Itachi decided to reward him by gripping his organ more fully and stroking it quickly in time with each of his thrusts. The S-Class criminal could gain pleasure from the older man's body in any way or form; he would gain it most when the other man responded as well, making it more than clear it wasn't just his body that was enjoying the selfish act.

Kakashi knew he was probably out of line by his participation in the act and by the instinctive demands his body made from the other male, but at this point he didn't care. His earlier fears about of his friends and the villagers of Konoha reactions has long faded into the deep recesses of his mind.

The Uchiha managed a few more thrusts until he tossed his head back and cried out wordlessly, hot waves of fluid crashing through his lover's body with each slow penetrating thrust he made as his body bucked and went rigid.

Kakashi cried out loudly as he felt the heated eruption of fluids explode within him. The motions that followed the orgasm easily triggered his own series of spasms.

Itachi stayed inside the silver haired man a few minutes more, letting his body calm down, before he sighed contently and drew his body back.

Almost immediately Kakashi found an emptiness start to grow within him as the other man withdrew. A silent plea of _'don't go' _had already formed on his lips, but he couldn't find any courage to voice it. He _should_ feel ashamed for actually enjoying this sharing of bodies. Indirectly, he betrayed his village with his shameful act, yet he couldn't feel any remorse inside of him. He could have blamed it on his inability to fight back and his injured body, but he couldn't say that Itachi forced him. No, Itachi _didn't_ rape him, because no one _can _rape the willing. And he was _more _than willing to let Itachi fucked him.

Itachi watched the changing expressions on his silver haired lover's face. He didn't like it a bit. After a brief consideration, he leaned downward and once again captured the man's lips in a heated kiss. His hands didn't idle either. They traced up and down the jounin's lean and lithe body. It didn't take long for him to get hot and hard again. He flipped the older man's body over, so that he was now on his hands and knees, instead of laying on his back like a few moments before.

He entered Kakashi's body with more ease this time. The passage already slick and soaked from their previous intercourse. Without waiting the jounin to adjust to his penetration, he began a harsh pace fucking the man for the second time.

Kakashi moaned as he felt his lover slide into his body again. His plea of more pleasure was answered by rough and hard pounding that he soon received. More, more, more of Itachi. He wanted to feel more. He longed to feel more. More pleasure, more pounding, more Itachi. By now, Kakashi was no longer capable of speech and before long his voice became hoarse from his screaming.

The occasional cry from Itachi joined with Kakashi's, filling the dim cave. The missing-nin's cries were partly muffled due to his face being leaned down against the man's silver hair, the sweat dampened strands tickling over his face with each movement of his body. Anytime he moved forcefully against Kakashi, he could feel the sweat gathered on their bodies. Letting his chest rub against the flat planes of the jounin's back, he thrust harder into Kakashi's willing body. Knowing his end was quickly approaching from the exquisite tightness clenching around him and the full contact of Kakashi's body to his, he slid his hand down from the man's shoulder to wrap his fingers about the man's length.

Loud cries fell from Kakashi's lips. In such a short period of time the Uchiha had claimed his body and his mind so fully that as he heard Itachi's command to come, he did so and with much relish.

Kakashi's orgasm brought the Uchiha his release as well. With a painful hold on the silver haired jounin's waist, he thrust into the jounin's body as deep as he could and poured his passion into the older man's body. He gave a few more lazy thrust, before finally drawing back.

It took Itachi a few moments before he regaining his breath. He drew the older ninja's lithe body so it laid spooned against him. The Uchiha lifted one Kakashi's legs, thrusting and teasing, until he unable to take it anymore, his hand cupped on the man's backside to tilt his hips to just the right angle and pushed easily into him.

"You're insatiable," came Kakashi's throaty reply.

Itachi chuckled softly at this statement. Normally he would have been satisfied with just one round of fucking, but somehow with Kakashi he craved for more. Ached to be buried again and _again _inside the silver haired jounin. He didn't know what it was that made Kakashi so different from his previous one night stands. It just seemed right, seemed perfect for him to take Kakashi over and over again. Because the silver haired jounin was completely his.

Bodies met again and again in a merciless rhythm, set to the tempo of the grunts and cries echoing in the dimly light cave, with the sounds of skin slapping against skin. A pair of red wheeled eyes met with mismatched black and red eyes as lusty demands increased from both their lips, and from the pounding of their bodies against one another. Their dance of passion continued all night, while the rain poured down harder outside the cave. With only the rain and the starless sky to serve as their witness.

**o---O---o o---O---o o---O---o**

**Naruto's Encyclopedia:**

_Iwagakure no Sato_ (literally "Village Hidden Among Rocks") is one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, located in the Land of Earth. Deidara hails from here.

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Because of FF. Net policy which doesn't allow NC-17 (Fiction Rating : MA), this chapter had been edited for suitability. If you want to read the real (or uncensored) version of this chapter, you can go to my user profile and click the link I gave there. I've opened one account in AFF. Net under the same user name as well.

Comments and constructive criticisms are appreciated. Suggestions and requests will also be taken into account, but this doesn't mean that I will use all of them. Don't hesitate to tell me if I did a lousy work.


	3. A Place To Call Home

**Warnings:** This fic will contain some spoilers (for those who didn't read the manga and only watch the anime, this is your last warning), strongly implied yaoi (ItaKaka), a healthy dose of angst, and, of course, mpreg (starting at this chapter). If you can't handle that, then don't read.

**Disclaimers:** Naruto is a Japanese manga created by Masashi Kishimoto, first published by Shueisha in Japan's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, with an anime TV series adaptation produced by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex. All trademarks and copyrights herein belong to someone else, so put that down before you break it.

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**Author's Notes:** I have revised the prologue and added a few things here and there (don't forget to check it), with many helps from my BETA readers. So this fic is now revised and beta'd. Thanks for my wonderful BETA readers; **Kiriko-sama**, **ariala**, and **DirtyD** that has made this story as readable as it is. Any other grammar/spelling errors were purely my own fault, do tell me if you see them. Please understand that this is my first attempt at writing a fic, plus English wasn't my native language.

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**KAKASHI UNMASKED**

**Chapter 2**

_A Place To Call Home_

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The bright morning sun woke Kakashi from his restful sleep the next morning. He squinted his eyes, trying to dwell farther away from the encroaching sunlight, groaning at still not being able to find the total darkness he longed for. Finally succumbing to the fact that he would not be able to drift back into dreamland, Kakashi flipped over onto his back, pushing the blanket that somehow shielded him through the night (even he couldn't remember how it came to be there) away a bit, and staring at the cave's ceiling with drowsy mismatched eyes.

He wasn't surprised to find that Itachi had gone. He knew that there is no reason for the Uchiha to stay. For him he was just another conquest, another convenient fuck to spend the night with, just like the many other bed partners the Uchiha surely had before himself. Kakashi pushed his blanket aside, staring down at it with some contemplation. Itachi must have been the one who covered him with the blanket in the first place, seemingly when he had lost consciousness sometime in the middle of their marathon of non-stop fucking. His ass feels so sore and very used. He will certainly be having some difficulty in sitting for the next few days. He can also feel Itachi's cum leaking from his asshole, staining his legs with a sticky white substance. Well, a bath is definitely in order. He can't go back to Konoha reeking of sex. Of course he could try to slip past Konoha gates unnoticed, but then he remembered the fact that there are ninjas in Konoha who have a more of a keen sense of smell than himself. Ninjas like the Inuzuka Clan, along with that thought he instinctively shuddered. No, it would be better if he played it safe.

It only took Kakashi fifteen minutes to get dressed and ready to go. The longest amount of time he spent was when he tried to fit each leg into his pants. Being a ninja meant needing to have a fast reaction to anything in all aspects of life, that included readying himself. A short walk into the woods afterwards made it possible for him to find a small river. Stepping past the bank of the river, he wasted no time in stripping from his clothes before he began to bathe. As he let the cool water soothe his sore body, he found himself drifting off into memories of last night. All of them. Every touch, every caress, every kiss, and every pleasurable thing that he knew he now should be able to live without, yet couldn't help replaying in his mind. Deciding not to dwell on his conflicting thoughts any longer, he rinsed himself off in the river and got out. As he put his clothes back on, he started to form a series of intricate hand seals of genjutsu. His formerly loose clothes now fit him perfectly, accentuating firm muscles and abs that he didn't have moments before. Satisfied with the genjutsu's effect, he began his journey home. Home, where he had lived for the past twenty-three years of his life. To Konoha.

It took him four more hours before he finally reached the big wooden gates of Konoha. He couldn't travel as fast as would have liked. His ass felt like it was on fire. It felt like someone had shoved a tree limb up his ass and twisted it badly enough to make the pain increase tenfold. Well... someone had shoved something up his ass last night, that's for sure. He tried to push his wandering thoughts away, far away to the back of his mind. No, it would only be better if he were to forget what occurred last night as soon as possible. Next time he came across Itachi, they would be back to their aforementioned role as enemies. Besides, after his lust had been spent, he can now reign in his anger for the missing-nin. Or so, he hoped. He contemplated his reasoning gravely. For some odd reason (which he couldn't quite figure out, much to his chagrin) his anger has been different. He wasn't sure if he can ever look at Itachi the same way again after last night's activities. Last night was amazing. Last night he had given himself fully. For once he wasn't the one who had to stay in control. He let Itachi take control of his body and mind, something that he never allowed anyone to do previously. Last night was...

No... no... no! He should not, would not, dwell on these memories any longer. He was a Konoha jounin! One among many, but he was hailed as a prodigy in his time, the famous Copy Ninja, Sharingan no Kakashi, and the biggest pervert after Jiraiya-sama himself. He wasn't some schoolboy with a crush on his enemy. Although said enemy did have a gorgeous body, was a good kisser, and...

And imagination, I command you to _stop_ right _now!_

Steeling his face to his usual emotionless mask, albeit it required more effort than usual, Kakashi saluted the chuunin guards posted outside the Konoha gates.

"Ah, Hatake-san you've arrived late. We expected you to show up by nightfall. Problems completing the mission?" One of the chuunin guards asked, as he checked his identification papers. The chuunin made a few inquisitive hand seals, to make sure that it wasn't forged. This was a standard procedure, designed in the first place for the sole purpose of distinguishing allies from enemy nins. Or by chance, to uncover the identity of enemy spies---which is a load of _bullshit, _considering all Hidden Villages had trained their spies very well. Along with the fact that ninjas were supposed to be well educated in the art of information gathering. This identification technique had been enhanced, particularly after the Sunagakure-Otogakure's combined assault almost two years ago. Yakushi Kabuto's success at infiltrating Konoha's defenses, without being suspected as a spy at all, was a sore spot for all Konoha shinobi worth their salt. Months after the joined onslaught had ceased, Konoha still suffered immensely with the great losses of their best shinobi, plus the large numbers of buildings and maintenances that had been destroyed in the ambush. Let alone the fact that they started to lose face in front of many daimyous and feudal lords from the Five Great Shinobi Nations.

"Something like that." Kakashi answered shortly. Even though the Copy Ninja had been famous with his tardiness on more than one occassion, he would perpetually finish his missions on time. Sometimes even faster from the required time the missions permitted. It wasn't like he tried to gain credits or improve his standing rank by doing so, no, the reason why Kakashi did it, was so he could have more _free_ time for himself. Many of his colleagues has accused him of finishing his missions so fast, just so he wouldn't be parted too long from his beloved Icha Icha Paradise. Which _wasn't_ entirely true. Likewise, Kakashi preferred to keep his secrets for himself, thus he didn't bother correcting the rumors.

"Godaime-sama has been expecting you in her office. You should report there as soon as possible." Ah, that's a good news to hear, right? It means that he probably will be interviewed and kept further away from his dream of curling up in a warm bed even longer. Something that he was continuously craving for, especially after such a long mission. More importantly now since his ass was hurting like hell, together with his chakra reserve was hazardously and unmistakably low, Kakashi was steadily feeling more cranky than usual. Then again, an order_ is _an order. Last time he checked, he was still an active Konoha shinobi, and Godaime Hokage was his leader. If Godaime demanded him to report then report he must. The old hag better have some sort of _very_ good excuse for this summon.

Kakashi gave a curt nod and dashed off. Jumping from one roottop to another, soon the familiar Hokage's tower appeared within sight. The masked ninja murmured curt greetings to some chuunins and jounins he met on his journey to the Hokage's office. Stopping outside the double doors in front of the office, he waited until the pair of ANBU guards posted outside the doors announced his arrival to Godaime. Hearing a muffled "come in" echo out from the closed doors, the silver haired jounin pushed the double doors open and stepped inside.

"Ah, Kakashi, I didn't anticipate that you would come_ this _late after the mission," was the first thing Tsunade said upon his entrance. She arranged her paperwork with a sharp clack, straightened a few kinks in her back, before turning and giving him her full attention.

"I don't think you called me just to handle my mission reports this early, Godaime-sama. Is there something you need me to do? A new mission, perhaps?" To be honest, Kakashi wasn't too keen on the idea of handling another mission so soon after his last one. His body was still aching in places he would rather not think about, moreover his chakra reserve had been shot to hell. The only thing he presently wanted was just to curl up in his bed, and not wake up for two days straight at least.

"Yes, and no, actually. There was a report about the increasing activity of the Akatsuki. It seems they have been more active recently." Ah, Akatsuki. Goody. He wasn't looking forward to meeting any more members from the organization, one member in particular, especially after last night's affairs. Sadly, it sounded like his hope would remain unfulfilled. "Some of their members have been sighted by our scouts. It is unusual for them to be this open in public. They usually prefer to conceal their existence."

"Who knows how their minds works?" Kakashi shrugged nonchalantly.

"True, but this also means they are planning something. Furthermore, we don't have any clue about what they are up to." Godaime sighed. Her stressed out state could be clearly seen.

"Like you said, they are a discreet organization. We will probably remain in the dark until they carry out their move. I discerned a little fact, that they will have a meeting in a weeks time." Kakashi supplied the information he derived from the aftermath of his fight with Sasori.

Tsunade sat up straighter in her seat. Her honey hazel eyes now focused intently upon him. "And how did you obtain that particular bit of information?"

"Had a run in with one of their members. I identified him as Akasuna no Sasori, the former nin from Sunagakure. He mentioned something about a meeting that will be occurring in a weeks time." Kakashi decided to leave some details out of his report. Okay, maybe not just _some,_ but quite a _many_ details. He wasn't enthusiastic about explaining his unfortunate encounter with the four Akatsuki members, instead of just describing one. Godaime would undoubtedly besiege him with an endless amount of questions and insist on explicit details. Questions like _why_ they let him live for example? There is no way in greatest respect of Yondaime's name he would explain the events that followed from the encounter, which lead into how he is still standing here instead being buried six feet under pushing up lilies and daisies.

_'They let me live because Itachi told them to leave the two of us alone. We fought and he won. Turns up he didn't want to kill me, he just wanted to fuck me. Sooo we fucked all night long. My ass is still sore from our countless fucks of last night.' _Yeah, he could imagine how _well_ the Godaime would take the news.

"He gave you the information voluntarily?" Tsunade asked again. Her honey colored eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Kakashi snorted. "Hardly, he attacked me as soon as he saw me. We didn't exchange many greetings and pleasantries because I was too busy struggling to stay alive the whole time. It was just a sheer luck on my part that he slipped up, thus enabling me to incapacitate him." Okay, if he decided to lie, he would lie completely. Otherwise his lies wouldn't hurt anyone. After all, every ninja was supposed to be a master at lying and manipulation, _right?_

"Did he divulge anything more to you, prior to this comment about the meeting?" Godaime inquired, prompting him to explain further.

"Nothing, just about the meeting. Said that he couldn't play with me for long because he had a meeting in a week. I doubted he would have said more if he was still alive." Kakashi replied with a shrug.

_That_ certainly perked Godaime's interest. So, Kakashi had a run in with one Akatsuki members last night. He had managed not only to stay alive, but also kill the said member. She had always known Kakashi was one of the strongest jounin in Konoha, except she didn't know that he was _that_ strong. Sure she had heard of his reputations, his high completion rates on missions, and his reputation as the Copy Ninja. Maybe she had _under looked_ him the whole time.

All the more, Kakashi is the son of the genius ninja, Hatake Sakumo, also known as the "Konoha's White Fang". According to the tales, Sakumo had been respected and gained quite a reputation, being as renowned as the three legendary Sannin---some even said that he was stronger than Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and herself---before he fell in disgrace after failing a vital mission to Konohagakure. The failed mission caused the village to suffer great losses, at least in its past. Apart from that, Kakashi himself had amazing records that were only rivaled by Uchiha Itachi. One of them being that he was among the youngest and brightest shinobi in Konoha's history.

"If there is nothing more then I would like to go home now, Godaime-sama." Kakashi's voice snapped her from her inner monologue.

"Yes, as a matter of fact there is, but I will save that for later. I expect to see you again soon, Kakashi. You're dismissed." Tsunade dismissed him with a wave of her hand. A signal that Kakashi quickly obeyed.

"Don't count on it." Kakashi grumbled under his breath, as he placed his mission scrolls on Godaime's desk. "Don't call me unless there is a life or death threatening situation." With that Kakashi walked out from Godaime's office.

**o---O---o o---O---o o---O---o **

Kakashi's apartment located on the outskirts of Konoha. The rent was cheaper than the unbelievably expensive rent costs many apartments located in the center of Konoha demanded. It was also more peaceful, with quiet surroundings (mainly to do with the neighborhood consisting of retired ninjas and older civilians). Kakashi wasn't a social person. He wasn't one to go to social gatherings and _wouldn't _go, if his peers _didn't _pester him to go. He loves his solitude. But sometimes, sometimes the stillness would become too unbearable for him to endure. God knows how many nights he came home to his cold, quiet, and empty apartment with only the purpose of missions to look forward to the next day. Today, however, was not one of those morbid time. Today, he longed to be home alone, curled up in the warm blankets that covered his queen sized bed. A little luxury he permitted himself to have.

He kicked his sandals off, flung his jounin jacket somewhere, then stripped out of his remaining clothes. After getting out of his pants and underwear, he choose to wear a new pair of pants and pajama top to go sleep in. Within minutes he was crawled up and snuggled under the warm blankets of his soft bed. It didn't take long for him to enter Morpheus' realm.

Despite his intention to sleep forty-eight hours straight, Kakashi awoke eighteen hours later. His stomach grumbled loudly, reminding him that he almost hadn't eaten anything in three days. He rummaged around in his kitchen and managed to find enough ingredients for a simple dish. Nothing fancy, just a bowl of rice, cooked meat, and a little bit of vegetables. He made a mental note to go shopping as soon as he had time. Kakashi sat, well not exactly sat, rather leaned on his side in the chair and began to eat. He hadn't had much success in sitting all day. The silver haired jounin realized that he would be limping for a few more days. Good thing he wouldn't be having any more missions. How could he face enemy nins if he couldn't even walk straight?

He ate his meal slowly, actually enjoying it. His chakra had begun to rebuild itself during the eighteen hours he was asleep. As soon as he finished his meal, he rinsed and washed the dirty dishes, leaving them to dry normally on his kitchen counter. Already he decided that he would need to get some shopping done, he grabed his money purse and made his way to the market square.

Since it was still early in the morning, the market square of Konoha wasn't crowded. Kakashi didn't like to spend a long amount of time for shopping. The masked jounin merely purchased all the necessities he needed. Rice, meat, fruits, vegetables, milk, and some instant noodles for quick meals on late nights. As a jounin he would have to keep his body in top physical condition, so he always tried to eat healthy meals. On his way through the market, he received a few greetings from fellow colleagues. Having finished with everything on his list of groceries, Kakashi intended to leave the market and go back home as fast as possible. About halfway, however, his steps faltered when a loud cry butchered his name.

"Kakashiiii! My eternal rival, you have returned. Why you didn't you tell me, the Great Green Beast of Konoha? The bright youth of time shouldn't be wasted so!" The loud voice of one Maito Gai was hard to ignore.

The silver haired man didn't even bother to reply back. Tightening his grip on his purchases, he began to walk away from Gai as fast as humanly possible (which was real fast due to the amount of ninja training he had), without having to resort to breaking down and start to run away. He didn't have any energy to deal with his self-proclaimed rival right now, not that he usually wanted to deal with him anyways. He preferred to avoid Gai's one sided declaration of eternal rivalry and his ever constant challenges. Judging by how many times he had shot down Gai's enthusiastic greetings, the taijutsu master ought to have taken a hint, or two. But, _nooo, _either the green spandex wearing jounin was incredibly dense, or just inhumanly stubborn. In which, Kakashi suspected the former was the case.

"KAKASHI! Where does your youth carry you off too? I heard you fought an S-Class missing-nin during your last mission. That was really cool, my eternal rival! To battle one so famed and elusive and win!" Gai now had rivers of tears running down his face and was babbling on about how cool Kakashi was. The thumbs-up made Kakashi's step even faster.

"Tell me Kakashi. Is that true? Give me details, details, my rival! Was your enemy strong, or could he not match your youthful vigor alike the rays of the sun? How were you be able to defeat them?" Completely unfazed by his rival's attempts to leave, Gai started to barrage him with non-stop questions. None of which he felt inclined to answer.

After a few minutes passed, Gai paused for a moment until his arms-up pose was complete with a disbelieving face. "Ohhhhh, how you act so nonchalant and cool even after such a deed, brushing it off as if it was nothing and ignoring such praise. So HIP!" Gai wiped envious tears from his eyes and followed after him once again. In a space of a few seconds, Gai's mood has changed from depressed to exhilarated. His infamous grin back in the place, with a shining and inhuman glint that taunted Kakashi.

"Ohhh, I find it an amazing feat, even for you. It certainly proves that you are worthy enough to be my greatest rival. I knew, I just _knew _it, the springtime of youth has blossomed for you too! Both of us would set a great example and be an inspiration for all of the youngsters in Konoha! And you... " Kakashi had long learned and mastered the art of completely tuning out most of Gai's ramblings, something that many of his fellow shinobi envied. He had many chances to practice and a lot of time to master this particular art over the years.

"...therefore a couple of other jounins and I have arranged a special party for you. Also to celebrate Kurenai and Asuma's successful missions." Gai ended his speech with flourish. There was a peace sign and a flash of ultra bright teeth that momentarily stunned the silver haired jounin with their brilliance.

Kakashi sweat dropped. He knew that there is no way he could avoid the weekly meeting between Konoha jounins (dubbed as the "Jounin's Night Out"), disguised as a celebration party for successful missions. An activity, which was established by Tsunade, who hoped it would become a tradition. It was enacted in an effort to increase the morale and teamwork between Konoha jounins. In Kakashi's opinion, anyhow, those things _didn't_ really_ need _working on. Honestly, they _weren't_ a bunch of genin struggling through the hormonal inconsistencies that came with puberty.

But Tsunade was the Godaime. This fact alone made her order a _law_ for all shinobi of Konoha, better not risk the wrath of the Hokage and take the chance of being banned from the village---plus becoming a missing-nin because of a simple meeting was plain _stupid._ As a result, nowadays, once in a week---instead of the formerly once in a month _mission-based-only _meetings---the jounins in Konoha had arranged a _special_ meeting to socialize with each other. Be it to remember fallen comrades, to celebrate successful missions, or to just meet and talk with one another. Not to mention catch up on latest gossips.

Ninjas, especially if they have reached jounin rank, were opprobrious for being a bunch of loud and snoopy people. After all they had been drilled with the importance of Information Gathering since they were an Academy's graduate. Sometimes they forgot to draw the line at what was private and public knowledge.

Mournfully, Kakashi recalled the not-so-fond memory about how_ pleasant _it turned up for him the last time he had (stupidly) declared that he would not show up, and winced inwardly. Aoba and Raidou had teamed up _against _him. The resulting teamwork had proved successful at knocking him unconscious and defenseless. Both of them even had the audacity to tie him up, then drag his bound _and_ unconscious body to the meeting. In a bizarre way, Tsunade had gotten the result (granting it was a little far-fetched) from what she aimed for.

The Copy Ninja sighed heavily. Resigning himself to the inevitable, he gave his promise to Gai that he would come to the meeting at Kurenai's house later on in the day. Of course saying it in his modern kind of way, just to get Gai's patented outcry. He then proceeded to walk off home to his apartment.

Despite his earlier irritation (he ought to keep up his appearance in front of Gai, or any unnamed shinobi and villager who might have been watching at the time), a hint of a genuine smile graced his features (not that anyone could have seen it, thanks to his mask).

_It felt good to be home._

**o---O---o o---O---o o---O---o **

Kakashi was in a foul mood. Opening his mismatched eyes, he turned his head as best as he could with his right arm thrown across his face. Staring through sheer curtains covering the window, he glanced up at the bright sunshine and summer blue sky. Occasionally, he caught a glimpse of a bird or two flying around. It was a beautiful morning in Konoha, but Kakashi didn't share the bright mood, or happiness at the beginning of a new day.

Thinking that today had better be an improvement over the last four or so, and hoping that this morning would be different from all of the others, he wished he could just keep himself from getting sick again.

Of course, just thinking about it made him nauseous.

_'I hope this bug, or whatever the hell it is I have will go away soon. I would rather not miss any more days of training, most importantly with all the paperwork and missions I've got coming in now.' _

He continued being hopeful for some minutes, holding his breathe when he felt the urge to get up and run for the bathroom. He managed to hold the queasiness down and kept himself from becoming sick once more, not wanting to spend another morning emptying his stomach's contents into the toilet. He was already familiar with the porcelain throne as it was. It was bad enough that he had been sick since the end of last week, and any more days of falling victim to whatever virus had decided to make its home inside of him, would make this week much worse.

He guessed he would have been able to handle it, if there had been signs leading up to him getting sick, but this illness had come rather suddenly. One day he had felt perfectly fine, if not a little tired from training so hard, and the next morning he had been heaving his stomach's contents into the toilet bowl. Moreover the feelings of nausea were the only things to even prove that he was ill. He didn't have a fever, there was no cough, no sniffles, and no pain in his stomach that would show signs of an angry virus, only the disgusting mornings of sitting before the toilet and throwing up anything he had eaten from the previous night.

_'If this continue any longer, I'm seeing medic-nin.' _Certainly, Kakashi had to remain level headed as befitted for a skilled jounin of Konoha in this situation. He had taken good care of himself for the past twenty-three years and prided himself on it. He rarely got sick. Just an occasional bouts of flu from time to time. That's why this sickness was bothering him so much. A flu had never lasted so long before.

Finally, he decided to get up and finish his morning routine in the bathroom. The silver haired jounin went back into his room and put on his jounin's attire, followed by placing the trademark mask on his face.

For years, Kakashi would wake up at five o' clock every morning. Like any other jounin he had an internal clock that would always dictate when he should wake up. He would embark on his day by paying a visit to the Memorial Stone, offering his respect to some of the names carved on the smooth surface of the stone---three names who had once been loved ones in particular---as a way to remind himself of what he had lost.

After Team Seven had been temporarily disbanded, the last surviving Hatake would continue his routine which consisting of some moderate training, before reporting to Tsunade for missions. Leaving aside the case that he wasn't a fitness freak like Gai (nor did he support Gai's extreme training methods, even if he accepted the ridiculous challenges from the man), he understood the importance of keeping his body in top shape, seeing that his life depended on it. He would warm up with shuriken art, a couple of taijutsu katas, and sometimes some chakra control exercises. Light stuff, stuff that he could do in his sleep. Though the thing of it was, Kakashi discovered with growing trepidation, he _couldn't _pull off a lot of the things he usually did without thinking. He would stop his kata halfway through, shaking, sweating visibly, and breathing heavily. Furthermore, during his chakra exercises, he would find himself stumbling into the bushes and becoming sick. Not to forget, much to his growing horror, he began to sleep in late.

Oh yes, he was well-known for his chronic tardiness, but lately it had become ridiculous. How he could get a decent amount of training done and overcome his sickness, if his body decided that it would rather sleep longer instead of train?

Today, today will be different. Today, some other jounins and himself had agreed on a friendly spar. It was a nice break from constant individual training all the jounins have, not to mention the perfect opportunity to test another jounin's strength and show off new techniques. No doubt Gai would challenge him at the first opportunity, but at least he would have a chance to fight another Konoha jounin as well.

Hopping from one rooftop to another he sped up in order to reach the Jounin Training Area in a decent amount of time. He could see that some of the other jounins had begun their matches. He landed soundlessly beside Genma. _"Yo," _he addressed his fellow jounin, raising one hand in amicable greeting.

The brown haired senbon sucking jounin gave him a flick from his senbon, acknowledging his presence. "I see you still don't let up on your old habit of getting up late."

"Can't lose my image, can I?" Kakashi replied. The one visible eye crinkled, indicating a smile beneath his mask. "Did I miss any good fights?"

"You lost out on some good scenes from Raidou and Asuma's fights." Anko informed him. "Otherwise you didn't miss anything. Ibiki and Gai's fight has just been started."

"Oh," was Kakashi's only response. He found it extremely odd that Gai actually decided to start a fight with _another_ jounin, _without_ challenging _him_ first. That's good, really good. This meant he now had a good chance of fighting some other jounin with a fresh start.

Usually he would fight Gai first, before he got a chance to fight another person. He never lost to Gai---at least not in a _fair _battle, some of their more ridiculous matches (including 100-meter dashes, sumo-wrestling, ramen-eating contests, and Rock, Paper, Scissors) _didn't count! _Still it didn't mean fighting Gai has been easy. The green spandex wearing jounin was the best taijutsu master in Konoha. He had a hell of a lot more stamina than Kakashi could ever wish for. He wouldn't admit it though, but their fights had always been interesting, leaving him exhausted enough to try and find a way to slow down Gai's insufferable stamina, he was looking forward to their next fight even after they finished another 'friendly' spar.

"So, Genma," He asked, eyeing the jounin next to him. "Want to have a spar?"

Genma flicked his senbon upward. "Why not? I don't often have a chance to kick your ass."

"Ha, dream on, Genma." Kakashi prepared his kunai. He didn't often get a chance to spar with his fellow jounins, with the exception of Gai, of course.

For a moment both jounins looked at each other, sizing up their opponents. In the next moment both of them vanished. Only the sharpest of eyes from fellow jounins could follow their movement and watch the battle of speed between the two. Their battle drew even more attention than the previous matches. And even with shinobi trained eyes they had difficulties in locating the two.

Kakashi felt the thrill of battle wash through him. He always enjoyed a fight with a formidable opponent, even if the said fight was just a mock battle. Kicking, dodging, punching, throwing kunai, avoiding shuriken, and trying to best his opponent without getting injured in return. His happiness didn't last long, though. All of the sudden he felt bile rise up in his throat.

Genma blinked in confusion. He had been sure that he saw Kakashi in front of him just a second ago. Where did the silver haired jounin go?

Kakashi_ never _ran from a battle. No matter how gruesome or brutal the battle became. So, when he suddenly decided to _ditch_ the fight he was clearly enjoying, there had to be a _very _good reason _why_.

Genma's confusion was answered a few seconds later by a vile-sounding retch from the bushes nearby.

With a mix of fear and curiosity, all the jounins present---including Ibiki and Gai who had stopped their battle after hearing the sound of someone being noisely sick---walked towards the bushes and were greeted by a sight they had never witnessed before. They had never seen Kakashi look quite so miserable. He was hunched over on the moist ground, one hand shakily keeping his balance over the ground, the other snaked around his stomach. He was violently sick---gagging, vomiting, and then gagging again with wet moans---and was far too preoccupied with this to care that he had an audience. He stiffened when he felt the other jounins' presence near him, but apparently his ninja senses didn't seem to alleviate his nausea---he simply glared shortly at them then doubled over and vomited again.

After a long moment the nausea seemed to pass, and Kakashi finally sat back with a heavy sigh, clutching his stomach and looking green... Or as far as a guy with mask on his face could look green, anyway. _How_ he could keep his face covered from them while he gagged and vomited fiercely was still an unsolved mystery, for all the jounins in the surrounding area.

"Wow," Raidou said a few second later, a touch of wonder laced his voice. "I didn't think I would eventually see the Great Hatake Kakashi get sick and vomit all over the bushes."

"You're not the only one." Anko muttered, being the only one who had already witnessed Kakashi run over the bushes and vomit, mostly because they happened to have a preference for the same training regimen. "You know, if you were a woman and I didn't know any better, I would begin to wonder if you were pregnant."

"Yeah, right," Asuma drawled. "Only chicks can get pregnant Anko, not dudes." This statement prompted a bout of snickers from all the male jounins nearby.

However, Anko's sudden comment caused Kakashi's heart to start to pound in his chest, not just from the surprise of one of his colleagues saying something so ridiculous, but at the thought that…

_Oh, Shit…_

Vaguely he heard his fellow jounins bickers back and forth, but the silver haired man had long since tuned out the conversations, his mind going in a frenzy. Anko's random statement kept playing over and over again in his brain, and he cursed himself for being so stupid, for not thinking of something like that beforehand. It made a perfect sense, and he almost fainted just thinking of it as a possibility. His mind still wanted to believe it was a virus, but now he was _not _so sure.

_SHIT!_

"Kakashi, are you okay?" Kurenai's concerned voice snapped him back to reality, the masked jounin noted the looks of surprise and confusion of the other jounin's faces.

The Copy Ninja forced himself to smile. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I-I just... remembered the last time I got so sick and..." He trailed off, saying the first thing that sprang into his mind at this sudden question. "I've got to get some reports done now, so I will talk to you guys later." He said, and made a hasty retreat.

**o---O---o o---O---o o---O---o **

**Naruto's Encyclopedia:**

The Five Great Shinobi Nations:

1. _Konohagakure no Sato _(literally "Village Hidden Among Tree Leaves"), located in the Land of Fire, is ruled by Hokage.  
2. _Kirigakure no Sato_ (literally "Village Hidden In The Mist"), located in the Land of Water, is ruled by Mizukage.  
3. _Sunagakure no Sato_ (literally "Village Hidden In The Sand"), located in the Land of Wind, is ruled by Kazekage.  
4. _Kumogakure no Sato_ (literally "Village Hidden Among Clouds"), located in the Land of Lightning, is ruled by Raikage.  
5. _Iwagakure no Sato_ (literally "Village Hidden Among Rocks"), located in the Land of Earth, is ruled by Tsuchikage.

_Otogakure no Sato_ (literally "Village Hidden In The Sound") was founded by Orochimaru for the express purpose of collecting ninja for his experiments and quest to learn jutsu, as a part of the Land of Sound (formerly known as the Land of Rice Fields). The five Kages of the Five Great Shinobi Nations didn't acknowledge Otogakure.

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Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I loved your comments---now I understand what the others said about authors being able to write faster when given more reviews. **_Your reviews are my motivation!_**

Starting with this chapter, I will try to focus as much as possible on the plot and character development. I hoped against hopes that I managed to stay true to the characters. I might not be able to update frequently, because I'm always overly critical of my own work, and paranoid that there are mistakes in it... so I absolutely refuse to post it before someone else had proof-read it first.

As usual, comments and constructive criticisms are appreciated. Suggestions and requests will also be taken into account, but this doesn't mean that I will use all of them. Don't hesitate to tell me if I did a lousy work.

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**IMPORTANT NOTES!**

I should have asked this question earlier, oh well, better a little late than nothing at all. How would you like Kakashi's little bundle of joy turn up to be? A boy or a girl? Each gender will have different repercussions, mainly to do with their abilities to retain Sharingan. I have my mind set on a specific gender, but that still could change, depend on requests. So the choice is up yours, readers!


	4. Rock Bottom – One Can Only Go Up

**Warnings:** This fic will contain some spoilers (for those who didn't read the manga and only watch the anime, this is your last warning), strongly implied yaoi (ItaKaka), a healthy dose of angst, mpreg, and often very regrettable grammatical errors. If you can't handle that, then don't read.

**Disclaimers:** Naruto is a Japanese manga created by Masashi Kishimoto, first published by Shueisha in Japan's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, with an anime TV series adaptation produced by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex. All trademarks and copyrights herein belong to someone else, so put that down before you break it.

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**Credits:** Incredible thanks for this fic go to **Kiriko-sama **and **DirtyD**, my hard-working beta-readers, that has made this story as readable as it is. Any flaws, including any other grammar/spelling errors, in this spiel are my own; any praise is to be laid at their feet.

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**KAKASHI UNMASKED **

**Chapter 3**

_Rock Bottom _– _One Can Only Go Up _

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_'This cannot be happening to me.'_

Kakashi sat on the counter top in the bathroom, as nervous and as harried as a little wannabe ninja boy on his first day attending the Academy. He had spent an hour wandering aimlessly after leaving the Jounin Training Area, before carefully using a _Kage Bunshin_ masked with an illusion as a normal village woman out to buy a home pregnancy test. Because, had Hatake Kakashi purchased it himself a riot would have ensued. At the thought, the silver haired man shuddered involuntary.

It had taken all the courage and willpower within him to pick up one of those omen-like boxes, all the while trying to keep his heart from bursting right out of his chest. Never in a million years did the last Sharingan holder of Konoha think that he would be in this position.

Waiting for the results had been the most frustrating five minutes in his entire life; he stared at the box where the positive or negative sign was supposed to appear, fingers drumming nervously on his knees, and wondered exactly how insane he had become.

_'I must be going crazy. There is just no way… God, I shouldn't be doing this. It's just a virus; just a stupid virus that will be gone in a few days.'_

His legs shook as he sat there, and his hands trembled with the little white stick held between them. He couldn't believe he had even contemplated doing this, he told himself he was stupid for letting what Anko had said get to his head like this.

He didn't know how long he sat there, he lost track of time while deep in thought, trying to tell himself to calm down and that everything would be okay. That he was blowing an innocent little comment way out of proportion. Minutes passed by in silence, until he finally forced himself to look back down at the test.

His visible black eye widened, and limp fingers let the test fall to the floor with a clatter that echoed from the bathroom's walls.

_'Holy shit, how the fu…?'_

His mind quickly supplied the only plausible answer for this problem. Males _don't _get pregnant. Even if the said male _was _a ninja. But Kakashi's bloodline allowed him the ability to bear a child. His bloodline may not be as strong, or lethal looking like the Uchihas and Hyuugas bloodline limits. _Hell, _even he was not so sure his bloodline _could _be called a bloodline limit after all. Being that he was the only member of his bloodline to ever exist, after his parent's death.

When he reached the age of puberty at twelve years old, he had been awakened by a searing pain in his hips and an ache in his head. It felt like elephants were driving trucks all over in his skull, meanwhile demolishing his brain in the process. It was then that there came to be a wet feeling between his legs.

He… He… Was… _BLEEDING!_

Not knowing anyone else to ask (his mother had died in childbirth, and his father had been lost to suicide by the time he was a young child), the newly appointed ANBU rushed over to Sandaime's home in a surge of fear for his life. Fearing the possibility that he would _die_ from such a weird and incurable illness at the mere age of _twelve. _Or he had thought that maybe somehow he had been hit by a strange ninjutsu and the said ninjutsu had taken effect after the ANBU exam ended, making him bleed to death. He explained his discovery early that morning with fearful tone (not to mention he almost turned into a watering pot) in front of Sandaime.

After hours of frantic poking and prodding disguised as a medical examination, Sandaime was finally able to reach a logical conclusion.

He almost could_ not _believe the things Sandaime explained to him.

It seemed that his body wasn't like any other normal male body. He has a little opening (right next to his pleasure spot, though he didn't know what it meant at the time and wouldn't know what exactly a pleasure spot was until eleven years later), one that normally _shouldn't_ exist for males. The little passageway appeared to lead into a small sack-like area, somewhat like a uterus but no-where near as sophisticated. Just a holding area, a womb, a place to contain the fetus as it grows.

Each month he would bleed for 5 or 6 days and he would need a lot of pads, or tampons.

And he was _able_ to get _pregnant_ now.

Goody.

It was like being a bloody girl.

Sandaime had blushed a lot with embarrassment, when he explained to him that he would have a high possibility of being able to conceive a child if he were to have sex _with_ another male _without_ protection.

Thus, as every word had sunk in… Kakashi fainted dead away for the first time in his short life.

Now sitting on his knees, on the cold tile floor of his bathroom, Kakashi feels like he was about to faint for a second time.

He wanted to hit his head on the wall and scream in frustration for not understanding how this could have happened.

How could he have been so stupid to have allowed this to occur?

In the rush of hectic missions he had undertaken, he would occasionally forget to check his periodic cycle. But was that _really_ the case? He had been late before, the stress and the emotional roller-coaster ride of being a shinobi had done numbers on his menstrual cycles in the past. None of them had caused such an impetuous aftereffect like the predicament he was in presently, so why...?

Then memory dawned on him, he couldn't have forgotten such an amazing night, as he knew he would remember the whole experience, in detail, for the rest of his life.

That night, a little more than eight weeks ago, he had allowed himself to be held in Itachi's arms for that night and found to his own amazement that it had made him happy---so happy that he had ranked it the third Best Day Ever Happened in his life.

He had been so caught up in what his lover was doing to him, where he was kissing, and how much pleasure it brought to him to even bother with having a rational thought process.

They had _not _used protection then.

_Oh no..._

He froze, panicked, and wondered what the hell he was going to do now.

He couldn't just race up to Godaime Hokage's office and tell her that _he_ is pregnant straightaway, could he?

No. He could surmise just how the Godaime would look at him, as if he was insane (not like she never thought he was _right_ in the head in the first place), or she would laugh at him, for his wild attempt at humor. Thereupon demand a thorough examination of his body. She would want to know about the genjutsu seal placed on his stomach, why he would have that seal in the first place and what he was hiding, and next force him to undo the seal so she could take a better look at his physique. Following that there would be long hours of frantic poking and prodding, with various medical equipment from one of the hospital rooms, most likely with the aid of her assistant and protégé, Shizune. Or, God forbid, _Sakura! _

No. No. He could endure the medical examination Sandaime had performed on him eleven years ago. In the past he had been too afraid of the possibilities of dying, especially after just being made ANBU to care about anything else, much less his dignity as Sandaime had done a thorough medical scan over his body. Unknowingly, he started to shake his head in time with his depressing thoughts, a gesture of raising hysteria.

No. No. No. He wasn't a twelve year old boy anymore. He is a twenty-three year old man this day. An adult. A male adult. A male adult that have the ability to get pregnant.

Therefore, he is back to his original problem.

He is a male jounin. A male jounin who has ability to conceive a child and is pregnant with said child at present moment. A child created from the seed of one of the most wanted criminals in Konoha.

_Shit. Double shit. Triple damn shi--_ His tirade of cursing was abruptly coming to a screeching halt.

How was he supposed to answer the question of who the father of his baby was?

He didn't think Tsunade and the council of Elders of Konoha would take it kindly, perchance they discovered that he is pregnant _and _with Uchiha Itachi's child.

Kakashi felt like he could just break down and cry.

In the end, the portion of his brain that dealt exclusively in rational process of thinking shattered all of those lingering doubts. He realized that he couldn't do this alone. Maybe he would be able to hide the earlier stages of his pregnancy, but it _wouldn't_ last for long. As far as he knew from his observations on fellow female jounins who were pregnant, he would be as big as barrel at the ending stages of pregnancy. He wouldn't be able to pull off a lot of things; including his usual style of fighting, if his battle with Genma this morning was any indication to go by. In a real mission, the enemy wouldn't just sit back and watch him puking his guts out.

There is still another thing to worry about. The child's other father.

Uchiha Itachi wouldn't be pleased about his pregnancy, however unplanned this pregnancy was. He would kill him for attempting to revive the clan he had taken the time and energy to annihilate in the first place. Kakashi was barely able to fight against him in top form, he surely couldn't fight Itachi by the time his pregnancy far progressed. It would be suicide.

To top that off, there is the dreaded part of giving birth at the end of pregnancy.

Kakashi was a formidable jounin. He had vast amounts of all types of knowledge; from battles, to missions, even to a certain series of books. The extent of his knowledge was almost unrivaled, sans for the few selective people out there. Sadly, he didn't happen to know anything about the whole measly part of giving birth. How was the baby going to get out of his body seven months later, or information like how he would take care of his child afterwards.

He needs all the help he could get. He would welcome Godaime's help, his fellow jounin's help, the village's help, any kind of help he could get.

He will _not _lose this baby, just because he is_ too _proud to ask for help.

So that's how he came to be standing in front of Godaime's office, waiting 'till he is called in. He gave a disgrunted look towards the ANBU guards posted outside the Hokage's doors, while inwardly he was thankful that none of them were members of the Hyuuga Clan. The Byakugan could see through the inner chakra coil system and detect unusual chakra fluctuations concentrating around his stomach. He wondered if time really did go slowly when someone was waiting, or bored. He never thought he could be so _happy_ to hear a "come in" from Godaime's office before._ 'Well, here goes nothing.'_

He was surprised to see Jiraiya in the office. The Toad Hermit never stayed in one place for long. Last time he heard, the pervert Sennin was off somewhere in the Earth Country, while training Naruto as they traveled together. Mentally he groaned, it would be harder for him to explain this all with the Toad Hermit present.

"Kakashi, I don't recall I have called you for a meeting with me." Godaime asked, genuinely concerned. "What brings you here?"

Kakashi took a deep breath. "Godaime-sama, I require a favor." The silver haired jounin paused for a second, then added, "No, more precisely, I need your help."

He didn't need a Sharingan eye to recognize the look of surprise on Tsunade's face. It was understandable, because the Copy Ninja _never_ came to her, or anyone else, for _help._ Whatever it was that would make him do so had to be incredibly important,_ or _incredibly dangerous. Because for all of the geniuses she had the pleasure to meet in her entire life, Kakashi was among few that has a sense of pride and a reputation to uphold that wouldn't allow for _this. _Those like him preferred to solve their problems by themselves and seldom asked help from others. On second thought, for being geniuses they actually aren't _that _bright. "Oh, and how can I help you?"

"Have you read my medical records?" Kakashi asked her. He _wasn't_ stalling, damn it! Only needed to confirm how much information he should divulge to Godaime before delivering the news that would get him neck-deep in shit. _Yes, _that was it.

"Yes." Sandaime had left his successor some scrolls containing results of his research. Among them Tsunade had found out about Kakashi's records. Information about his unique bloodline, the medical examination done on him, his abilities, and so on. Unbelievable as they may have been (she had never believed that a hermaphrodite truly existed, let alone expected that the silver haired protégé from Yondaime was one), but the records came from Sandaime himself and therefore couldn't have been faked, or forged. All the explanations about the existence of an opening, a womb, a second gender hidden beneath the first gender, how both gender could be active _and_ functioning at the same time were indisputable points that lead towards the existence of a "third gender", a Hermaphrodite, a Male who has the ability to conceive and carry a child.

Tsunade was a medic-nin. The medic-nin inside her was deeply interested at this discovery, but foremost she was a _woman_ and the Hokage. She could understand the reason why Kakashi would want to keep his secret and what consequences were to happen if this information were to fall into the wrong hands.

The letter Sandaime wrote at the end of the records asked her to keep this information to herself, it mentioned not asking or pestering Kakashi with questions and demand examinations of him, until the jounin felt ready to share his secret with her. That was one of Sandaime's last testaments. He wrote the records, only so there was someone Kakashi could confide his secret to after he was gone. Tsunade wasn't about to betray her deceased sensei's will. She wonders now _what_ would make Kakashi want to speak with her about his condition.

Kakashi feels somewhat relieved. He was afraid he would have to explain his unique condition and fulfill Godaime's demands of examining his body in order to prove that he wasn't joking around. It still didn't lessen his prime worries, but that was a _good_ start. "You know about my case then?"

Tsunade only nodded. Behind her Jiraiya has been unusually quiet. Even the old pervert himself could sense the seriousness of the situation.

"Well, I'm pregnant."

Silence.

Total silence.

Total and utter silence.

Were a pin dropped in the Hokage's office, there would have been more noise than the silence that followed.

Normally, Kakashi would have appreciated the silence. Or maybe the amount of shock he caused, but though he had never been a people's person, he was expecting something other than absolute nothingness. Sure, he would rather spend his free time in silence and the solitude of his apartment than hang out with his fellow ninjas, or party the whole night away, but still...

Silence and solitude gave him the opportunity to think (and more frequently than not, to brood) about the good and the bad events that have happened in his lone life. At least a lone life for an ex-ANBU member and Konoha shinobi. Kakashi's list of the good things that happened in his life was extremely short, so it was given that he would often spend his time brooding than not, _without_ any other present, and _in_ silence.

Now he wishes for something, anything, anyone to break the awkward silence that fell over the Hokage's office since breaking the news about his pregnancy.

As if the fates had heard his silent prayer and decided to humor him, the silence---as sudden as it came---broke.

Jiraiya started to babble unintelligibly in a language unknown to any human, after a few seconds the Toad Hermit's babble trailed off into a squeak that sounded remarkably like a five year old girl who had just had her favorite doll taken away. His eyes widened comically in horrified shock, and it was at least a full minute before he remembered to re-hinge his jaw. Comprehensibility fled, he leaned on Tsunade's chair and made a pathetic little gasping sound, that might have been, "preg-preg-preg-preg-preg--!" had it not been for the hysterical shrieks shoved in-between the choppy word-bits.

Kakashi would have lavished in that shock expressions from the old man---because Jiraiya's miniature epileptic fits were quite entertaining---if it wasn't _him_ who had caused the perverted Sennin to lose his marbles.

To his credit, Tsunade didn't laugh, nor was the other Sennin's calm reduced to a transitory self-induced traumatic state like Jiraiya, when Kakashi told her the news. She didn't have to. The look of horror and utter disbelief in her eyes told him what she really felt about the whole thing, there could be no mistake as to what she was thinking.

"You're... pregnant?" Tsunade said, mastering the art of stating the obvious, with wide honey eyes.

"Yes, I am." Kakashi agreed. The silver haired man was well-aware of the bombshell he had just dropped, yet he feigned oblivion regardless. Shinobi's rule number twenty-five---one of his favorite rules over all fundamental principles of being a shinobi in his early years---had clearly stated that; _A shinobi must keep emotions on the inside no matter what the situation._ A faint effort on his behalf to overcome his nervousness, still... the masked ninja still couldn't have suppressed all of his anxieties from showing in his unconcealed right eye, he was purposely avoiding direct eye's contact with Jiraiya and Tsunade._ 'Shut up, you damn stupid conscience!'_

"How long?"

"About two months so." He trailed off, dreading the next question Tsunade would undoubtedly asked.

Surprisingly, it wasn't Tsunade who asked the Million _Ryou_ Question.

"So, who is the---errrr---other parent?" Jiraiya asked, curious and flustered at the same time. Considering that he had been gaping and speechless only a minute before, Kakashi didn't think it would be possible for him to form a coherent question.

Tsunade fixed her gaze intently on Kakashi. Like Jiraiya, she couldn't quite figure out _what_ kind of terminology went _where, _seeing as Kakashi _was_ the one toting around someone else's spawn. She could only assume that there was a father. _Another father, _much as that hurt her head to think about.

_"Itachi."_ Kakashi answered calmly, evenly. _"Uchiha Itachi is the father."_

The scatterbrained expression of ever-lasting shock was back. Only this time Jiraiya wasn't the only one who wore the look.

This time even Tsunade couldn't keep complete composure, she banged the flats of her palms against the desk and scattered the papers previously piled up ontop.

"Come again?" Tsunade requested, as composedly as possible, after somehow regaining her level-headedness. She looked like she was going to have a heart palpitation at any moment, despite being very healthy, well as healthy as woman at her age was. _'Are you shitting me? Tell me you are just fucking with our heads, for the fun of it.'_

"Uchiha Itachi is the one who knocked me up." Kakashi replied calmly, not deterred from the looks of shock on both of the Sannin in front of him. He was weeping inside, relieved that no one could see his mental breakdown.

"H-how?" Tsunade gasped, obviously scandalized.

"I would rather not talk about it," the silver haired jounin said stiffly. His face darkened and Tsunade decided she would let the question slide, for the moment.

"I believe you have your own reasons for keeping that secret, Kakashi." She said as she stood up from her chair. "However I need to _examine _you in private."

There was a loud groan of disappointment from Jiraiya.

Not surprisingly, none of the room's other occupants paid attention at the Toad Hermit's act of displaying his dismay.

**o---O---o o---O---o o---O---o **

Tsunade ushered her subordinate into the hospital, where she took him into an examination room and sat Kakashi down on the paper-covered table. She looked surprised when she spotted his genjutsu seal. "Can you undo the seal Kakashi? How can I take a better look at you when you're still wearing an illusion?"

Knowing that the Godaime was right, Kakashi sighed and started to form a series of elaborate hand seals to undermine the illusion he was currently using. His genjutsu seal simmered a little, before vanishing completely.

The changes were immediate---his buff and well toned body transformed into a slender, catlike, and overall more effeminate appearance. Tsunade could see why Kakashi used an illusion to hide his true form. To compensate with his naturally effeminate looks, he tried to be as masculine as humanly possible, that included wearing a facemask and changing his bodies outward appearance.

There were some speculations (and quite a few betting pools running) among the general population of Konoha shinobi about why exactly the Copy Ninja wears that mask constantly. Some believed he has a disfigured facial features, like fish lips, horse teeth, _or _a pointy mouth. Others predicted he might have an extraordinarily good-looking face beneath the mask, one that could endanger whoever saw it by making them fall in love with him instantly.

If only she could make him take off his facemask...

"Are we ready?" the Godaime inquired.

Kakashi gave her a scathing look. "We're not having something shoved up our arses, are we? Just me. Although I'm sure I can arrange otherwise."

"Ultrasounds aren't done till the 12th week into pregnancy, and you're only in your 8th. You can't get a good image this early with transabdominal ones. But transvaginal scans can be run as early as 5 weeks." Tsunade explained. "And you don't have a vagina, need I go on?"

"Just get it done and over with quickly." Kakashi grumbled. He wasn't looking forward to this examination. Last time he did this was eleven years ago, with Sandaime. Only the threat of bleeding to death at such a _very _young age enabled him to endure the whole examination that one time in the past. Jounin level escaping skills came in handy all the time, especially for escaping from any sort of medical examination.

Tsunade picked up a long, narrow instrument attached to a machine with a small view-screen. She checked the transducer and the leads carefully, covered the probe with a condom, and then applied a coating of sterile lubricant.

"Okay, Kakashi, here we go. Deep breath and hold it." She gently eased the transducer into Kakashi's body. "There---that wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Speak for yourself," Kakashi retorted.

"Let's just see what we have here," Tsunade pronounced, adjusting the screen and moving the probe until she got a clear picture. "All right. I'm going to move slowly, so we can get a good look at everything."

"Pervert."

Tsunade ignored him, intently studying the screen. "There! Look at that---it answers a lot of the questions I have had." She touched an area just visible at the top of the screen. "There is an opening here, one that shouldn't normally exist. And it appears to lead into a small sack-like area."

"Like a uterus?" Kakashi asked, tilting his head so he could look at the screen.

"No-where near as sophisticated," Tsunade said absently, studying the image. "Just a holding area, a place to contain the fetus while it grows. I thought that the placenta would be attached to the intestine or bowels, as in an abdominal pregnancy, but I never imagined something like this." She gently pressed the transducer deeper, centering the image on the screen. "I wish I knew how fertilization could occur _between_ males, but I doubt we will ever really know that."

"It's almost the same with women." Kakashi replied. "I _do_ have menstrual cycles to go by."

"Yeah, I guess. All right, Kakashi---shall we knock on the door and see who's home?" She shifted the wand part of the transducer slightly and saw Kakashi wince. "Easy, Kakashi. I know it's uncomfortable but we're almost done."

"Uncomfortable?" Kakashi groaned. "You have such a way with words, Hokage-sama."

"I do my humbled best," Tsunade contested, her eyes fixed on the image. "And there is our little one," she announced with a smile. She circled a spot on the screen with a light-pen. "See this clear spot here, Kakashi? That's the embryonic sac, and this little blob down here is your son, or daughter."

Kakashi eagerly studied the image. "Can you tell _which_ sex it is?"

Tsunade grinned and shook her head. "It doesn't even know _what_ gender it is yet." Then she frowned and bent closer. "What on earth---Kakashi, I need you to shift a little this way, please," she said, gently easing the jounin forward a bit. "My God! I never expected---this is absolutely incredible!"

"What?" Kakashi demanded, his heart in his throat. He may not have wanted this child, but the thought that something might be wrong with it suddenly terrified him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Tsunade affirmed, a grin threatening to split across her face. "But we have an explanation for the weight gain and the increased nausea." She pointed at a slightly smaller clear spot beside the first one. "See this? It's a second embryonic sac. Congratulations, Kakashi---_you're having twins."_

Kakashi didn't know if he should feel relieved, or horrified. The idea of taking care of a child was scary, but with two children, it was damn near _impossible._ But as he saw the little blobs who supposedly were his sons, or daughters he found himself unable to hate them. Unexpected though they might be, but they _weren't_ necessarily unwanted.

Half an hour later he was sitting back in the visitor chair in the Hokage's office, when Tsunade explained what he should do.

"And when will people actually be able to look at me and tell that I'm pregnant?"

"Definitely by the fifth month. Sometimes it is harder to tell from people who are naturally large, but you're pretty thin as it is. You may be able to notice within the next month or so, but it will be fairly easy to hide," Tsunade smiled before she looked over some of the information she had received and over the simple tests that had been conducted earlier. "Everything looks good so far. You weigh slightly less than I estimated and your iron is a bit low, but a few changes in your diet should fix that."

She was far from finished. "And as _your _doctor, I have a few suggestions. Firstly, you need to increase your daily caloric intake by about three hundred calories for each child---and good calories, mind you. No sweet things, not that you like sweet things to begin with. You will probably gain six, or seven pounds a month, so don't let that worry you. Keep up some exercise---_not training; _exercise, like walking, without any kunai, shuriken, senbon, or sharp things involved---and get plenty of rest. Above all, call me if you think anything might be wrong."

"I will, Godaime-sama." Kakashi replied tiredly. "But it means I will have to be pulled from active duty. Also that I can't stay in Konoha much longer. People are bound to notice me when I gain more weight in a few months. I'm not sure I can fool them with my genjutsu, considering there is one clan in Konoha whose members can see through chakra pathways and fluctuations. With this pregnancy, my chakra control and reserve are going to be shot to hell."

"Yes, I've assigned you a long term mission. I would like for you to keep a low profile. Better yet, it would be a wise idea if you disguised yourself as a female for the remainder of your pregnancy." Tsunade appeared in deep thought. "I don't think you could continue living on in your apartment. Only a handful of jounins and ANBU operatives have information about your living arrangements, but..."

"We could never be too careful." Kakashi finished her sentence. One of the most important rules of being Shinobi; _Constant Vigilance!_ Never let your guard down in any situation that might stir up problems while on missions, or off missions in this case. That also included the need for Secrecy.

Tsunade nodded. "Do you have any other choices for a suitable living place?"

Kakashi was silent for a long moment, mulling over the pros and cons of his option in terms of living quarters. "The old Hatake mansion. No one has lived within it for years. I'm the only one who knows the layout of the house, and many of the traps and tricks my... father built into it are still active."

If Tsunade noticed the temporary lapse in his answer, she chose not to voice it aloud. "Good, no one would suspect you of moving back into your old home." She stopped briefly, then resumed in a much softer tones. "I'm glad you have considered this, Kakashi. If Orochimaru and the Akatsuki found out that you're pregnant, I can only imagine what they would do to you and your children."

Ah yes, there are some criminal organizations which would love to get him Captured and Killed, or worse Tortured to Death. As if his situation wasn't bad enough, there is a rather disturbing fact about the children's other parent. Who surely wouldn't be happy with his pregnancy. Kakashi wasn't sure what made him afraid the most.

Itachi would kill him, simply because the Uchiha didn't slay all of his bloodline for amusement, he wanted them dead and done away with. After all the trouble he went to eradicate the Uchiha Clan, he would _not_ be stupid enough to knock up a girl (or a guy in Kakashi's case) by accident. At random... his pregnancy could be seen as an attempt to revive the Uchiha Clan! _Ha, _who was he kidding? The so-called-illustrious Uchiha Clan had marked him as no more than a mongrel thief of their Sharingan, thus despised his very existence quite openly, when they were still walking on the earth. Frankly, he could care less about the revival of the Uchiha Clan. There was no love lost between them---essentially in his part for their demise.

Orochimaru... who knew what the pedophile-looking-mascara-wearing bastard would do? Kidnap him probably. And wait 'till the children born, so he could ensure more containers available for him in the future. That's it, if the Snake Sennin knew the identity of the babies' other father.

"Kakashi, besides me and Tsunade, how_ many _know the identity of the children's other parent?" Jiraiya asked him. He was surprised. The Toad Hermit has been fairly quiet the whole time, unlike his usual loud and exuberant self.

"No more. Just you and Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sama." He answered, looking back at the man who had been his sensei's teacher and now one of his pupil's teacher.

"Good. Less people know the more safer it is for you." Jiraiya smiled at him. For once, there was no trace of the lecherous grin he was famous for on the Toad Sennin's face.

"Go home, Kakashi." Tsunade ordered. "You need some rest. Don't worry too much. We've got it covered. Just come to your monthly appointment next month. I want to see you once a month from now on and through your sixth months, twice a month during your seventh and eighth, and during month nine I will see you once every week."

Kakashi stood up, prepared to leave. He turned once more before opening the door, addressing the two Sannin that promised to help him during the course of his pregnancy. "Thank you Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sama." He didn't expect any reply. The Copy Ninja opened the door and left the Hokage's office.

**o---O---o o---O---o o---O---o **

As soon as the doors were closed, Tsunade let the torrent of emotions she had suppressed loose. The Konoha's leading ninja knotted her fingers, rested her forehead on the back palm of her joined hands, and sighed morosely. She needed some sake, bad. How Kakashi was able to get himself impregnated was beyond her imagination, with Uchiha Itachi's child no less---ehmm... well children, nevertheless. The blonde haired woman had put up a calm and indifferent facade in front of Kakashi, it didn't bode well to upset the young man further, she could see that he was stressed enough as it was and in desperate need for help. Tsunade didn't need to be a medic-nin to know that it would take much for a proud man like Kakashi to ever come to her for help.

"What's with the long face, Tsunade?" Jiraiya asked. For someone who had an epileptic attack not quite a hour ago, he sounded too cheerful for her own liking.

She had merely looked at him, scowling at his cheerfullness with half-lidded eyes and depleting patience.

"What are you glowering at? Really, Tsunade, look on the bright side." The Toad Sennin remarked in a tone bordering outright on pleading with her to just listen to what he was really getting at. "I think we should have an in-depth discussion about this. Just think," he proceeded, gesturing with a hand as he leaned on the wall again, "such a match would produce a Clan our enemies would rue the day they messed with."

Tsunade merely raised one eyebrow. What was her old teammate getting at? _Oh..._

"Please." His voice was quiet, serious, and she found her brows drawing together as she contemplated his mood. "Can't you just imagine it?"

She could. The Hatake bloodline had an outstanding genius capacity for tactics, intelligence, and combat combined with the Uchiha's Sharingan and impressive fighting abilities in all ninja's aspect, mainly for taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu would meet in a most formidable union. Uchiha Itachi was a bastard. But he was a _dangerous_ and_ powerful _bastard. Before the Uchiha Clan had been wiped out, they were the strongest bloodline clan and used to be mighty influential in Konoha, second only by the Hyuuga Clan. Not to mention the Hatake hound blood pact. What a lethal combination that would be. Unconsciously she shivered a little and he gave a wicked smile.

"I see you do." That damned knowing smile really was _wicked._

"I know, Jiraiya." She asserted with a frown. "Still keeping things like this secret will be hard. Sooner, or later it will come out into the open. We might be able to get things under control right now. But when the children get older, others will start to notice some genetic traits or resemblances to the other parent too, especially when they finally developed the Sharingan."

"Yeah, yeah," Apparently, Jiraiya _didn't_ seem to share her concern. "And how long will it take? Five, ten, or more years later, Tsunade. By the time they found out, we would make sure the children were able to defend themselves properly."

She threw him a caustically skeptic look. Jiraiya's talent to take things easy always irked her, and he seemed to have not lost that particular talent even after aging throughout the years.

"If he doesn't start _settling in_, the remainder of his clan will go the way of the Uchiha. It's not like he has a lot of time on his hands. And he was little Yondaime's kid, after all, so I gotta do something."

"No, he was Sakumo's child." Tsunade corrected him. "Yondaime was_ not _Kakashi's father. Why do you feel the need to look after him? He _is_ a grown man after all."

Jiraiya threw her a gauging look. "Someone has got to. He doesn't have anyone else. And Yondaime was _more _of a father to him _than_ Sakumo was," he retorted heedfully. Then his tone turned more serious. "Since Team Seven's disbandment he never took on another team of rookie genins, even considered giving up on being a jounin teacher and started back up with ANBU again. Thank God,_ I _managed to persuade him, by the way. Also he requested you to _keep_ him on near constant and active mission status for all this time. He needs a break, Tsunade. Every person needs a break sometimes in their life."

Tsunade's scowl softened a little as she contemplated the last bit of Jiraiya's speech. Much as she disliked it, the pervert Sennin _did _have a good point here. For a good amount of the year, Kakashi had tackled every A-Ranked, S-Ranked, and Unranked missions available. Because of this behavior, his peers bestowed the Copy Ninja a new nickname---something which suspiciously sounded like _"the lucky bastard who is hogging all the high-paying missions around here". _But for those who knew him better, it looked like the last Hatake tried to drown his sorrow by taking all the dangerous missions. If the masked jounin was _trying_ to get himself _killed, _he was doing a good job of it.

The last time Kakashi had pulled off something similar like he has been doing these days, was when his first teammates had been killed in the line of duty. At the time, Yondaime was the only one who had been able to deal with the boy and bring the homicidal eight year old out of his self-inflicted misery. _'Did I just think that Jiraiya had a good idea? Oh my God, I must be going crazy!'_

Pondering this reverie for a few moments, Tsunade began to see the logic behind her old teammate's reasoning. Jiraiya was actually coming off as _wise_ for once. She shouldn't have been so surprised. The Toad Hermit has proven many times, that he could be both a great ninja one second, and a total sleaze ball the next. Simply put, he would shatter her budding positive opinion by doing something _stupid_ at any given moment. Peeping outside the women's bath-houses as an excuse for the sake of some 'research' material was one of them.

"He has been alone for a long time." Jiraiya mumbled grumpily. "A family. A child or two of his own will do him a whole lot of good."

She knew where his heart lay. He had had quite the soft spot for the blond boy and student who had become the Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato. And because of his unique connection to that student, Kakashi had inherited Jiraiya's affection to a certain degree. Yondaime had been so proud and nurturing of the young Hatake, over the years as the Toad Sennin got a chance to be acquainted with the silver haired boy, who had grown into a fine man and a good shinobi, he also could see why.

"Plus it would be a shame to lose that kind of power," he mused.

She understood perfectly _what _he meant.

Nodding, Tsunade chose to voice her agreement. It was only natural and expected of the Hokage to acquiesce the importance of_ blood _best kept_ within_ one's village. "I know." She wavered, then continued. "And we will help him as much as it is possible within our powers."

**o---O---o o---O---o o---O---o **

Opening the door to his apartment, Kakashi released a relieved breath he didn't know he was holding. Well, that went well. Far better than he had imagined. With Tsunade and Jiraiya's help he would have a better chance at hiding his pregnancy from curious' eyes, and have a much better chance for his pregnancy to progress normally, well as normally as possible for him anyway. Considering Tsunade is the best medic-nin in the Five Nations, he wasn't too worried, but he would still have a long way to go. At least he wouldn't be totally alone in all of this.

The silver haired man took a look at a black and white image no bigger than the palm of his hand. It was the first photograph of his babies. Tsunade had offered to make a copy from his first ultra sound and he gleefully accepted. He hadn't been expecting_ this, _to be able to see the babies so soon after finding out, to have this sort of proof that there really was little lives living in his belly, to be able to gaze at it, and know that they were_ his._

The pride and inexplicable feelings of happiness that swept through him were almost too much to handle; it was overwhelming, overriding his earlier fears and anger. He had never in his entire life felt this way before, and never had he even imagined what it was like to be a father---errr, mother, _whatever. _The babies weren't even born yet, but he could already feel something inside of him, joining with the love he felt for his friends and family alike, something he had ceased to hope for and never expected to find again.

His gaze shifted to the ceiling as a single tear of happiness fell... and he smiled.

_He isn't alone anymore._

**o---O---o o---O---o o---O---o **

**Did You Know?**

The terms hermaphrodite is used to describe a person born with both male and female sex organs, determined as neither exclusively male nor female, or which combine features of the male and female sexes. The medical community labeled this third gender as "Sex Differentiation Disorders", in order to avoid conflating anatomy with identity. This is a very rare condition and the causes are not known. In most Western societies, those born with ambiguous genitalia have been expected to select one sex, and conform to its gender role. Doctors then recommend early surgery to make the child look physically like the sex assigned to them.

There are 3 labels of Hermaphrodites: True, Male Pseudo and Female Pseudo. All are equally genuine. In this fic, I portrayed Kakashi more like a Female Pseudo type, a person born XX (chromosomes) with normal female internal organs but with "masculinized" genitalia. They can appear more male then female or a combination of each. In reality, however, it is practically impossible for both genders to be functioning at the same time without causing some side effects to its host, hence the advice for sexual reassignment surgery early in life.

**o---O---o o---O---o o---O---o **

**Author's Notes:**

This chapter was actually fully written more than two weeks ago, I took time to re-read and re-write Chapter 3, mainly due to popular demand from the reviewers about the gender of Kakashi's little bundle of joy. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Do you know what was funny? Most of reviewers in AFF. Net wanted a baby boy, whilst in FF. Net most of them wanted a baby girl.

I really hope everyone liked this chapter. I feel worried that no one is going to like it for some reason. No matter how many times I spent to revise it, I couldn't have been satisfied with the result.

Please let me know what you think. It's difficult for me to write sometimes and every review spurs me to work as hard as I can on it. Comments and constructive criticisms are appreciated. Suggestions and requests will also be taken into account, but this doesn't mean that I will use all of them. Don't hesitate to tell me if I did a lousy work.


	5. Hidden In Plain Sight

**Warnings:** This fic will contain some spoilers (for those who didn't read the manga and only watch the anime, this is your last warning), strongly implied yaoi (ItaKaka), a healthy dose of angst, _mpreg_, and often very regrettable grammatical errors. If you can't handle that, then don't read.

**Disclaimers:** Naruto is a Japanese manga created by Masashi Kishimoto, first published by Shueisha in Japan's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, with an anime TV series adaptation produced by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex. All trademarks and copyrights herein belong to someone else, so put that down before you break it.

**o---O---o o---O---o o---O---o **

**Credits:** Incredible thanks for this fic go to **Kiriko-sama **and **DirtyD**, my hard-working beta-readers, that has made this story as readable as it is. Any flaws, including any other grammar/spelling errors, in this spiel are my own; any praise is to be laid at their feet.

**o---O---o o---O---o o---O---o**

**KAKASHI UNMASKED**

**Chapter 4**

_Hidden In Plain Sight_

**o---O---o o---O---o o---O---o**

The Hatake mansion was located in one of the many unmarked spots in Konoha's topographic map, a fair way out of the busier part of the village, and at a distance that was enough of a long run to be good exercise and far enough from civilization to ensure there would be few---if any---neighbours. It was clear that the founder of the Hatake mansion had constructed it this way on purposes; mainly for Seclusion and Concealment from public's wandering eyes.

Unlike several other large manors, that belong to the older clans in Konoha, the ancestral home of the Hatake family looked more like an average civilian's home; a small two-story house that was rather… plain. From a bystander's point of view the house indicated nothing out of the ordinary---nothing which would give away the identity of one renowned shinobi family who owned the plain-looking house.

_'Always looks underneath the underneath,'_ Kakashi mused when he finally reached his destination.

The location of the house create mixed feelings for the silver haired man. Should a confrontation occur here, it was a relief to know that the number of people likely to be caught in its waves were few. Although on the other hand if anything went wrong, it would be a long trip back to the village, with an even longer journey to the Hokage Tower and ANBU Headquarters. He stopped considering the risks and benefits of this, however, when he finally spotted his destination.

Between the rotting pieces of wood making up the fence, Kakashi could see how dilapidated his old home had become after many years of abandonment from its former occupants. The front lawn was untidy and in need of a good mow. The entire mansion gave off a sensation of growing disrepair, neglect, and shabbiness.

This was where he had spent a good portion of his childhood. This was where he... together with his father had once lived.

After the demise of his only living relatives, Kakashi had stayed away from his family home. Opting to rent from one of the apartment complexes that located on the outskirts of Konoha.

Hatake Sakumo might not have been a good father, nevertheless he was Kakashi's father. Kakashi had learned at an early age that his father was an important ninja, therefore he had a great duty to Konoha. As a child, Kakashi had idolized his father, nothing made the young Hatake happier than his father's praise, and nothing ever would again.

This was the reason why he had left the Hatake mansion after his father's passing. He wanted to get away from the place that reminded him of everything the only hero in his life aspired to be. And now he was coming back to his old home, seeking refuge from the prying eyes of the villagers and his fellow shinobi; a shelter and safe house for his unborn children.

Striding past the picket fence, the silver haired jounin carefully maneuvered his movements through the grass when getting closer to the house's entrance. Stepping over several trip wires and staying out of the activation zones of several elemental jutsu traps as he went.

To say that the Hatake mansion was a place of safety was a dire understatement. The whole area surrounding the house was riddled with booby traps---all of various deadly types. The deceased Hatake Sakumo had manufactured the traps proficiently, securing their family's residence and allowing them to be in a relaxed environment within their home. His father's traps were so remarkable that only he could have found them, as he was being the one that actually knew their outline. One wrong move and someone not belonging on these grounds would find themselves fried, skewered, or blown-up very, very messily.

Kakashi wasn't worried about the safety of his old family house, as the protective jutsus would put a stop to all the uninvited guests, or at least give him some time to alert for any sign of trespassers. The Hatake home ancestry was nothing but secure.

Crossing the veranda, the last Hatake formed seals to unravel the protective locking jutsus, that were cast upon the main entrance, effectively taking down all the wards guarding the house in the process. The door swung easily open with one gentle push. As he walked upon the house's wooden floors, soft creaks made by the sole of his feet rose up to fill the silence. Once again Kakashi was reminded of how long it had been since he had last laid eyes on his home.

His sensitive nose twitched at the layer of dust surrounding everything, formed from years of inattention. Everything was in various states of shambles and the fact that it had been uninhabited for years showed. The paint was chipped and the wood was black where the white paint started to peel away.

Kakashi ran a hand through his silvery tresses as he surveyed his surroundings. Yep, he thought to himself, he would still have a long way to go indeed.

**o---O---o o---O---o o---O---o**

A three membered shinobi team of Konoha, consisting of one jounin and two chuunin, was patrolling the forest---five miles away from the main gate. It was a standard duty and normally one that was considered a blessed relief from the dull routine of the shinobi's lifestyle. Whether such lifestyle meant training a bunch of genins, or preparing for the intense danger of highly ranked missions.

So far the patrol had been uneventful. The forest was almost ridiculously peaceful, with its great trees towering over all the lesser life forms---humans and beasts alike. A chilly breeze stirred the branches overhead, making shadowy patterns as their leaves skittered to the forest floor and the Konoha ninjas automatically shifted their movements to match them, remaining invisible to all but the best-trained eyes.

They raced through the trees silently, weaving in and out of tree's canopies. The three man team tracked several more miles to the south, further than they normally would have. Eventually finding themselves in the part of the forest where the trees thinned out around a rocky outcrop with an old salt mine. It was a treacherous area with deep hidden caverns and sinkholes where underground streams had eaten away the salt deposits in the past millennia.

None of the three shinobi predicted meeting much of a hassle on a simple lookout assignment. Particularly not on one so close to their home village.

That was their first mistake.

The abrupt assault caught them unprepared. A scream soon followed, as a body fell to the leaf strewn ground and onto sharpened sticks. A loud "thump" echoed about, as a swinging log impacted with a stomach, crushing the owner between itself and a tree.

The last remaining Konoha ninja, the only jounin in the team, dodged to narrowly avoid an attack intended to slice his body in half. Missing its intented target, the lance embedded itself in a tree. Crouching down beneath the shadowy canopy of the trees, the jounin whirled two kunai out of his pouch, ready to defend himself against the unknown assailants that had just killed his fellow teammates. "Show yourself!" He demanded.

"For someone who will undeniably die here shortly, you sound remarkably loud. Wouldn't you rather attempt to turn tail and hide some more?" Suddenly appearing out of nowhere a slim and tall man could be seen standing next to a tree, a hand on the hilt of his spear-like weapon, and a smirk spreading across his face. He was dressed in plain, humble clothes.

"Konoha ninjas," a hooked nosed, bald man, holding a metal staff in one hand, appeared behind the startled Konoha jounin, "they sure bite off a lot more than they can chew." Like his companion, the man didn't wear any attire that signalled he was a ninja from another Hidden Village.

More than just a little taken aback, Nagai Go tightened his grip on his own set of kunai in his cool calm hands. His attackers had no identifying village marks, but that didn't mean that they weren't shinobi. They were able to sneak up and catch a group of Konoha ninjas by surprise, these enemies must be highly skilled. Or they had planned out their attack cautiously.

"Che, what do you expect from a peaceful village like them?" This time an irritated female voice carried upon the gentle breeze. A girl with red hair that shone like a new copper tile stepped out from the dark shadows of the forest. Arms crossed across her chest, she had a slight look of annoyance on her face.

Nagai Go sucked in a lung full of fresh air as he prepared himself for the showdown. He was outnumbered, and judging from how easily his opponents had taken out two of his teammates, outclassed as well. But no matter how grim the prospect of survival would be, he was not going down without a struggle. He was going to give them his all.

Sending a burst of chakra to his feet, the Konoha jounin swung backward and attacked the man behind him first. Intending to catch his opponent off guard and hit his side at the same time, only to receive the man's cold metal rod on his shin, knocking him off balance. The blow was hard enough to throw the jounin on his back, and he landed heavily on the ground. His foe immediately came upon him with a downward swing, a move meant to crush the organs in his chest and abdomen.

**o---O---o o---O---o o---O---o**

Jounins are associated---by an unspoken agreement from other Konoha ninja ranks (and a handful of civilians)---with a bunch particularly consisted of weirdoes.

There was a reason for this. An intelligible, yet valid reason to explain why none of them could be classified as completely sane.

Ninja lead very complicated lives.

The life of a ninja has many hazards. More so if the subsequent ninja has survived long enough to achieve the jounin rank.

The strain of their high-risk lifestyle leaves most with only three choices. They can find ways to cope with the trauma, they can suffer a complete breakdown and be left with the mental capabilities of a stump, or they can die.

The jounins that survived so far are the first group. They took the broken pieces of their psyche and separated them into a bipolar disorder, "the killer ninja in profession" and "the normal person in everyday's biorhythm". They sealed off a portion of themselves from danger and hurt, leaving them with a ruthless killer personality on the battlefield, and a fragile, nearly childlike persona during their off hours.

However, among the seasoned band of _Elites_, that are the Konoha jounins, one thing remains in common with the other ninja ranks of Konoha.

One thing above all that _all _Konoha shinobi were infamous for, regardless their standing rank in Konoha's hierarchy.

_Their Love For GOSSIPPING!_

In a four-story building near where the Ninja Academy built on, many jounins were sitting inside the Jounin Lounge, relaxing after finally being freed from monotone works of seasoning their genin subordinates, completing high-risk missions which almost constantly involved combats, or, the dreaded---and the bane of existence for all shinobi---_paperworks._

For a while, all were content with just sitting on one of the worn out sofas in the Jounin Lounge, sipping their beverages contentedly. For a while, that is, until one Yamashiro Aoba decided to break the tranquility by asking, "Hey, have any of you heard the rumors?"

Asuma took a long drag from his cigarette. "Well, now that you mention it, I just heard some disturbing rumors flying around lately."

"Rumors? What rumors?" Needles to say, that readily sparked the other jounins' curiosity. Especially a certain kunoichi, who had a tendency to use snake-based attacks in battle.

Aoba gleefully provided the answer for Anko's question. "The one about our most esteemed Copy Ninja."

"Ahhh, _those _rumors..."

By now, all of the assembled jounins were more than ready to join the conversation. After all, it was _really_ important for them to be well-informed about all _noteworthy_ information concerning the well-being of their beloved village.

Besides, the latest scoop that graced the top most position on the Konoha's gossip vines was way _too_ good _to_ miss.

Sharingan no Kakashi, according to the latest gossip in Konoha's rumor mill, finally _snapped._

"Soo, what do you think about the rumors?" Namiashi Raidou, a tokubetsu jounin who sported large furrows down his left cheek, asked tentatively.

Anko let out a very unladylike snort at hearing this. "Total bullshit!"

"Agreed, he may be deified a little..." Kurenai began, before her statement was promptly cut off by a series of collective wheezes. "Okay, _a lot, _but Kakashi has to have something more than dumb luck or he would be dead already.

"We concede that he is talented, Kurenai," Asuma responded in-between his cigarette smoking. "Though you have to admit that he wasn't in a _godlike_ health state the last time we saw him."

The _eye-opening _experience of seeing the famous Sharingan no Kakashi in such pitiful state---gagging, retching, throwing up, vomiting fiercely, and overall looking completely miserable, while making sorrowful mewls and soppy moans among the Jounin Training Area's bushes just a short weeks ago---had left a lasting impression and was etched permanently in the minds of every jounin present that had privileges to witness that _special_ occurrence. Definitely _worthwhile_ for the title of Most Outrageous News of the Year Award, maybe more. Give or take.

"Yeah, don't forget about the amount of hazardous missions Hatake-san has been taking on recently." Ebisu chirped. "No wonder he would get _burned out_ from the constant stress and dangerous duties. Remember Morino Ibiki and the bath-house incident? He said it was caused by mission stress."

At this, a cumulative tremor ran through the whole assembly.

"Anyhow," Ebisu continued shakily, "I have been wondering when the day would come where even our Hatake-san would reach his _limits."_

Genma rolled his eyes. "Don't be silly. It is Sharingan no Kakashi we are discussing here. A man who has cheated death far too many times. Moreover, why would the higher-ups in charge of the Mission Desk assign a _declining_ ninja _confidential_ sorties?"

"I just can't see Kakashi-senpai ever becoming so weak, I mean, he is the Copy Ninja!" Uzuki Yugao---a pretty violet haired woman, an ANBU operative and former subordinate of Kakashi while he was still in ANBU---commented, a little more conspiratorially than Genma liked.

"Totally with you on that one…" Anko added, her voice slightly strained.

"Uhmm..." Genma couldn't fight the confused look creeping across his face.

Meanwhile, the gathered males had caught up with their counterpart's mood and responded with a familiar groan.

Asuma pointedly snorted at seeing the assorted kunoichis' dreamy expressions. "I thought all of you would have grown out of your Kakashi-Fan-Club-ness?"

To Genma's confused look, Raidou explained, "A syndicate which was founded by the resident women for the sole purpose of _stalking_ our village's Copy Ninja."

Asuma, the more tactless one, had no problem at pointing out the obvious, "Obsessed, rabid fangirls, besotted stalker types." Which earned him a hard slap to the cheek from Kurenai who happened to be sitting next to him.

"We are _not_ crazy fangirls!" Kurenai practically shrieked.

"We only have an _aesthetic appreciation_ born from an _astute observation_ for badass, mysterious, smart, unattainable, yet unquestionably gorgeous shinobi…" Yugao finished her fellow kunoichis' defense somewhat breathlessly.

"Astute observation, my ass," Genma grumbled. "You forgot to add being atrociously late, patently lazy, porn-reading addict, and openly perverted to the mix." Obviously the self-proclaimed gigolo wasn't impressed with his fellow kunoichis' infatuation.

Anko smirked. "You're just jealous."

Genma's eyes narrowed at the accusation. "I. Am. NOT. Jealous."

"Ohh, please spare me..." the purple haired kunoichi drawled, rolling her eyes in a overdramatic gesture. Off in the sidelines, Kurenai and Yugao's hums could have been translated that they also shared Anko's assessment on that matter.

Fortunately, before an argument---which would undoubtedly develop into a full-blown brawl---could erupt, the door to the Jounin Lounge slammed open with a loud "BAM!!", automatically attracting the attention of all the jounin sitting or standing within the lounge.

A slightly winded Maito Gai---who looked like he just ran non-stop from the village's border to the Jounin Headquarters (which he probably did)---stormed intentionally into the lounge and announced loudly, "The patrol was attacked near the southeast border! No one was left alive!"

**o---O---o o---O---o o---O---o**

A good distance away from all ruckus brewing from the busybody which housed half of Konoha's population, Hatake Kakashi sat relaxing on a pull-out sofa. Knees folded together beneath the blanket that covering him up to his waist, with a familiar orange book dangling in his hand. A pot of green tea, a smaller pot filled with sugar, and a teacup were placed on a small table next to the comfy sofa he presently sprawled within.

He had used up the first month of his extended mission by cleaning and renovating the dilapidated mansion. Having been uninhabited for nearly twenty years, the house was buried in several inches of dust, and had a musty scent of a place closed up for far too long. It smelled of stale air, and (not just a little vaguely) dirty laundry, in short the whole place was in a pressing state of much (very much) needed repair.

It had taken a month of ceiling repairs and numerous loads of Scrubbing-Bubbles-no-jutsu to make it habitable. Another month had been spent full of laundry and merciless beatings of the power system to make it comfortable. After all the hard work he had done in order to create his current inhabitant decent enough for living in the past two months, Kakashi finally could start to enjoy the fruit of his labor.

Hence the all too convenient posture he was sporting at the present time. Curled up like a cat on a sofa that furnished the living room of the Hatake estate, he seemed so immersed in what appeared to be the same edition of Icha Icha Paradise he had started several years ago, only pausing occasionally to take a swig of his tea---his entire being radiated contentedness in waves.

_Junko let out a gasp as his lips were covered by Suki-hime's soft petals. He could feel her tongue move against his lips, automatically he opened up for her to taste him. But as he got an exquisite taste of the woman who had been his secret obsession for a long time, he lost himself in the languid movements of their lips. He was being filled with the pure power of nature, his hands moved up and took hold of her, wasting no time in pulling her down on the futon with him. The shinobi shifted, pulling himself atop the princess, entangling their legs and placing his Hime underneath him, wanting to feel more of their warmth and her feminine form pressing against his own. It was positively intoxicating, to be so uninhibited with Suki-hime, to not have to restrain himself anymore, and allowing a rush of need inside of him free reign. _

_Swiftly he maneuvered their position so he was now sitting between her legs. Looking down into Suki-hime's beautiful face flushed with passion and raw desire, he noticed that her gaze was filled with adoration, longing, and some unnamed emotion he couldn't distinguish. All this from her as she looked up at the almost naked man who had been her savior and guardian for the nights and days of her life. Junko could feel the heat rushing across his face at the sight of her unearthly splendor. Hot, passionate desires built too soon, too fast in his body, as the result of a wanton yearning far too long suppressed. Trembling hands reached to unwrap the embroidered obi that bound the princess' kimono--- _

However, just as things were heating up, something small, furry, and brown-colored jumped on the slight, barely noticeable bulge of Kakashi's belly. Resting atop of the thickset covering he was residing in, it wasn't more than three seconds later when an oh-so-annoyingly voice asked, "Geeze, why are you still reading that crap you call a piece of literature? Haven't you finished rereading it for a hundredth time already?"

Unfazed, Kakashi lifted his gaze from the aforesaid crap and frowned at the small pug. "You're the one who advised me to relax and do some reading."

From his perch ontop of Kakashi's abdomen, Pakkun stared back at his summoner incredulously. "When I had said reading would do a lot of good for you, I didn't mean reading Icha Icha Paradise!"

"Why? The series is a good read!" Kakashi protested in defense of his treasured novels. The Icha Icha series were greatly misunderstood by many people. The silver haired jounin in-hiatus believed it was because of people's narrow mindedness. Those _callous_ people labelled the Icha Icha sequences as no more than smutty little books, which were written with horrible grammar and terrible spelling. Sure, an Icha Icha novel wasn't a scroll of extreme historical significance, nor an informative, educational book for minors. It did, nonetheless, contain a brilliant weaving of adventures, mixed with great action scenes, just enough angst, and well-timed humor in its story. The adult themes written within the pages were just a bonus... All right, so they were _more_ than a bonus. They were almost like... an incentive, but not the entire point of the tale. _Seriously._

Pakkun eyed him as if trying to judge if his master was clinically idiotic or merely unable to understand what the concept of 'good' reading stood for. "I hardly consider Icha Icha Paradise as suitable reading material for your pups' development. And don't think I haven't noticed what are you attempting."

Kakashi cocked his head to the side a little bit. "Huh?"

Letting out a dog version of snort, Pakkun replied without missing a beat. "Let's drop the act now, Kakashi. That has long stopped to work since you were five years old, even back then you were more responsible than this."

Kakashi blinked.

Pakkun glared.

A moment passed in which the summoner and his summon stared at each other.

Then...

"Maybe you're right," Kakashi relented after the moment passed.

"Of course, I'm right," Pakkud said haughtily. "I had to put up with you during your adolescence after all. If by now I haven't picked up some of your bad habits and moods, it would be strange not to have done so."

Kakashi had to sigh at that, coming face to face with the truth wasn't always a pleasant experience. One of the drawbacks for having dogs as a summon, was that they were close-knit creatures in their nature of relationships. They valued the companionship of others in their "pack", which meant once they accept someone as their master, they also consider (and treat) their human master as one of the pack members. To be honest, his ninken might have known him better than any of his fellow ninjas and colleagues.

Hence, the hounding Pakkun was giving him.

"Look, it takes a mated pair to rear a healthy litter of pups, including all the other dogs, in the pack, assisting with raising the pups." Pakkun started his reasoning with a tone that all fathers use to placate little kids on the verge of crying. "Knowing the stubborn mule you are, I have no doubt you will somehow manage to raise them properly, _if_ you intend to undertake some responsibilities starting---how about, right now?"

Kakashi looked at the small pug sitting on his belly skeptically. "I don't see how my choice in reading has to do in direct correlation with my credibility for being able to care for my own spawn."

"Hmmph, you don't happen to have even an inch of knowledge regarding the pups' condition and your body's changes, do you?" Pakkun gave him a long look. "Now may be good of a time as any other to start some _real_ quality reading. Wasn't it you who spouted that 'what you didn't know could hurt you' speech some time ago, hmmm?"

Realizing that protesting the merits of his novels wouldn't further their conversation any, Kakashi slumped to the arm of the couch dejectedly. "Fine, fine. I will do it."

"Finally," Pakkun drawled, voice laced with smugness (and was that a hint of nitty-gritty sarcasm Kakashi was hearing?). "I'm starting to think that you're naturally obtuse, instead of only acting as such like you've claimed."

Kakashi scowled (though it was bordering dangerously close to a pout). "I don't remember asking you for any second opinions."

"No, I gave it to you for free regardless," Pakkun huffed loudly in response. "Because you don't know what is good for you."

"How very fortunate of me," the silver haired man remarked dryly.

Hearing this, Pakkun beamed. "Indeed, you ought to be grateful that I'm here looking out for your best interest. Now, stop being so difficult. Be a good, 'lil puppy and haul your scrawny hide from that couch, you've got book-learning to do." Had the pug been a human, his face would have been spurting a wide, triumphant grin for subsequently having achieved this step up over Kakashi. A feat that many would deem almost imposibble to accomplish (as stated by the majority of Konoha shinobi), but evidently not quite infeasible for his own dog summon---mainly Pakkun at most of the times the pug was summoned.

Almost one-hundred percent positive that his quiet, anticipated period of reading his beloved Icha Icha wouldn't be coming true any time today, Kakashi sighed, closed and left his novel on the small coffee table, murmuring a resigned "Yes, Pakkun. Of course, Pakkun. Whatever you say, Pakkun," in return before throwing the blanket aside and rolling out from his cozy sofa.

Having his seat moved quite abruptly (and to avoid being tangled within the cast off blanket), Pakkun scrambled from atop his summoner's belly onto the tatami mats below. "Oi, watch it!" the ninken growled.

Not for the first time (and most definitely not for the last time either), Kakashi chose to ignore the pug's undignified yelp. Making slow, deliberate steps towards what he considered the apparatus of baby-boomer propaganda which has cleverly masqueraded itself as "The Essential Guide to Conception, Pregnancy, Birth, and Everything In Between" in form of a pregnancy book, Kakashi resisted the urge to turn around and back to the safety cocoon that his beloved Icha Icha could offer.

The silver haired jounin was very fond of his reading habits. Not only did they serve as good material to squelch boredom on the normal, boring days without missions, they also fulfilled their role as a distraction. No one would bother to talk to him for longer than five minutes whenever he whipped Icha Icha Paradise out of his pocket. The unsaid message was clear; 'Uh-huh, I will not even pretend to be interested in you or in what you are trying to say. Let's cut the crap short and leave it at that, better yet, leave me the hell alone!' Unfortunately for the standoffish Copy Ninja of Konoha, there were certain exceptions to this quiet, unspoken quip---Naruto and Gai were the prime example. But all in all, Icha Icha had performed its usefulness quite beautifully.

The textbook that sat atop his living room's main table, nevertheless, was another matter entirely.

He might be a little---okay, a whole lot---biased in this opinion, as he was not even able to look past the cover of the supposedly educational book. The bright pink coverlet stood apart greatly againt the wooden backdrop of the counter. As if the pink-ness wasn't enough to give any sane, rational man a bad, severe case of nipples anxiety, the little sparkling hearts and lazy looking flowers decals (Kakashi thought they were probably daisies) that framed the garish red and bubbly handwritten title _**"What to Expect When You're Expecting" **_in romanji stuck out even from several feet away.

And he had to blame all this on Tsunade.

Kakashi's predicament had actually begun like so...

**o---O---o o---O---o o---O---o**

_**Two days earlier, one of the rooms at the maternity ward of Konohagakure's Hospital**_

"A book?" Kakashi asked in a bewildered manner as he gazed at the bright pink 'thing' that Tsunade had unceremoniously shoved into his palms after he had finished their monthly appointment.

"Yes, a book." Tsunade asserted whole heartedly, nodding her blonde head while responding as if to affirm her answer.

"A pregnancy book?" Apparently, Kakashi was being unnaturaly dense this particular day.

Honey tinted eyes narrowed in a contemplative demeanor. "Yes, a pregnancy book. Every woman needs a good pregnancy book to read while they are expecting."

"I am not a woman." Chin stuck high in the air, Kakashi reminded his esteemed leader---in case the Hokage actually managed to forget his true identity.

"Oh, really?" Tsunade's response was accompanied with a pointed look toward his outward appearrance---his very changed, and very obvious not-male appearance---or more specifically, toward the slight jutting of his belly that couldn't be totally concealed beneath the loose folds of the kimono he was wearing.

Suddenly feeling self conscious, Kakashi folded his arms over his midsection, as if doing so would screen the apparent sign of his pregnancy, while inwardly trying to convince himself that he _wasn't_ even showing that much. He had carefully picked this particular kimono for fulfilling that purpose. The minty green kimono had been slighty modified of course, there was absolutely no way Hatake Kakashi would go in a hostile environment---scratch that, any kind of environment---weapon_less._ The sleeves alone held a small arsenal of several cleverly concealed weapons and there were kunai, shuriken and senbon in strategic places---all where he could draw upon them should the need arise. Not to mention a few other things the disguised jounin thought might come in handy.

He... did get into a lot of fights (yes, even in Konoha), and had a penchant for winding up in awkward, potentially hazardous situations (yes, even Konoha wasn't entirely safe). Such was the fate of those who walked the path of Shinobi.

"Well," Her gaze leveled on Kakashi's face, Tsunade effortlessly rebuffed his earlier statement. "You certainly don't look like one at the present moment."

_'I knew that wearing lipstick and makeup was a bad idea.'_ Mentally, Kakashi scolded himself for being scrupulous with his façade.

Kakashi was a detailed person. To keep track of details---no matter how insignificant they may seem---could save one's neck, especially if the said person was a ninja. This seemingly meticulous trait had saved his life more time than he cared to count while he was on countless missions.

As far as his current charade was concerned, the former silver haired prodigy had undoubtedly tried his damnedest to impersonate a pregnant woman, as expected from a jounin of his station. You could tell this from the way he created his woman illusion. His persona had long, dark hair swept up into place with silver hair sticks (which in actuality the smaller, converted versions of the senbon needles), with light, curling tendrils dusting the sides of his neck, to the way his doe-like eyes glistened from beneath the heavy fringe of seductive lashes, so dark blue they almost appeared purple (product of a simple genjutsu spell, no doubt)---the illusion even carried over to the way he moved while he was dressed in a long, demure kimono without exposing himself or tripping on his feet (complete with false breasts and a shovel load of makeup).

To top it off; he had even managed to walk, sit, stand and act like a woman.

Tsunade was most put out. She had never imagined a phlegmatic ninja like Kakashi could pull off 'pretty' so well.

A light cough. "I can see that you're so well-versed in makeup," The blonde haired woman said appreciatively, sounding amused. "And nice boobs, by the way."

_She had to rub it in his face, didn't she?_ Shrugging, Kakashi replied in a neutral tone. "Thank you, Hokage-sama. I appreciate the compliment." Straightening his back after adjusting the obi which was tied around his waist, the shinobi in woman's clothing smiled prettily. "Well then. I have taken up enough of your time. Surely, you have more important things to attend to, I won't bother you any longer." Swiftly, he made a beeline to the exit.

"Oh no, you don't. Don't think you'll get off the hook so easily, Hatake." The hand that was already on the door knob stilled. "Nice try, but you need to work in your subtlety." Perhaps he wasn't being swift enough, in getting out of the room---or, more precisely, away from the glossy pink pregnancy book---Kakashi had forgone years worth of training experience and ninja skills he _supposedly_ possessed. "Besides, isn't there something you conveniently forget to pick up on your way out?"

Shoulders slumped with a silent, albeit disgruntled resignation, Kakashi tromped back to retrieve the aforementioned item from where he had _forgetfully_ left it.

No wonder Tsunade was able to detect his intention behind the not-so-quite-tactful retreat with ease; the horrid thing stood out like a sore thumb against the white papery sheet of the examination table!

"I'm not getting out of this, am I?"

The pleased smirk that graced the blonde Sennin's youthful face should have been a good enough answer. "I don't see why are you making such a fuss out of it. It's all for your own good." Hands on her hips, Tsunade continued, "Everything You Need To Know About Pregnancy, Labour And Birth has been listed in the book, _Month-by-Month._ Unless you're suddenly an expert on pregnancy, I strongly suggest you stop making excuses and read this book from cover to cover."

And that was a solid point, really.

Because, for the wide extent of knowledge the Ninja arts he had and the extensive amount of shinobi training he gathered, the infamous Sharingan no Kakashi was sorely lacking in the basic information about anything related to pregnancy and chidbirth.

But still, still he needed to get his point across. "It's very pink," Kakashi grumbled, even when his fingers had curled around the book.

_'Thus, we get to the heart of the matter,'_ Tsunade deduced smugly. Outwardly though, hands remained on her hips, she replied, "It's very informative," here she fixed Kakashi with a poignant look, "which is what matters." Before he could open his mouth to retort, she added, "Moreover, as I recall, Icha Icha is _Orange._ But you don't seem to have any qualms about reading those inappropriate, adult content themed books in public." That said, she had to bite the inside of her cheek to refrain from bursting into laughter at the conflicted impressions playing across Kakashi's countenance.

_'Figures.'_ Kakashi guessed he should have expected this sort of keen observation and comeback from his leader. "All right, all right, all right!" Kakashi held up his hands in submission, waved the bright neon pink book like some kind of flag. "I will check it out---" Deep down, the currently dark haired woman look alike suspected that Tsunade had deliberately picked up the most hideous, frilliest pregnancy book she could find just to see him squirm and have a good laugh at his expense.

He wouldn't put it past Tsunade (or Jiraiya) for that matter.

Tsunade's quick, cutting reply had only served to reaffirm his fleeting suspicion. "You will read that book." The leading ninja of Konoha grinned like she had won the lottery. Perhaps there were one, or two things she enjoyed almost as much as money. "I don't think you have ever read anything like it before. It is _very_ educational. _Very_ useful. I think that you would benefit from it, and so would your soon-to-be-children. You wouldn't want any harm come to them because of your ignorance, would you?" She dared him to disagree.

Heaving a tiny, quiet sigh, Kakashi nodded his head in a mock gesture of surrender. "Of course not, Hokage-sama. I will read it from cover to cover! You can count on it!" He consented meekly, _hastily._ Even if the very idea gave him a immense feeling of impending doom, but pissing off his superior was certainly not high in the list of his preferred things to do.

As the Godaime Hokage, the woman held enough power to make his life miserable.

Basically when Tsunade uttered a command; "Jump!", he was obliged to grouse back; "How high?", not questioning it.

So, with cheerful tone and a faker-than-fake smile plastered on his face, Kakashi accepted his new mission directive.

**o---O---o o---O---o o---O---o**

By the time a team of ANBU Investigation Squad arrived on the scene, the ground still smelled heavily of blood. The char marks of jutsu could be easily seen and fresh chips where shurikens had hit still showed on the rocks, and were apparent to the trained eye. Two of the corpses were crushed into the trees by mallets. They looked more like stage props than implements of killing, the bodies barely resembled the form of Konoha chuunins. A third corpse, several yards away, laid on the blood-soaked soil, in an even worse condition than the previous two. The chest had been battered, shredded badly, and blood was still pouring from the gaping wound in the corpse's belly, along with the liver and loops of pink viscera.

For a moment, Yuugao was at loss as her eyes adjusted to the grisly sight in front of her. Fortunately, her squad leader had no such problem. "Report!" The man barked out an order immediately, seemingly unperturbed with the scene of death and the broken bodies of those he had once called comrades, fellow Konoha ninjas.

A harried looking chuunin, who was very relieved that ANBU had come to take control of the situation, hurried up to greet the new arrivals. "Y-yes, sir...!" the young chuunin slightly stuttered before giving his clipped report in a more steady tone. "At approximately nine o' clock this morning, a three man team---Morimoto Kouji, Takahata Isao, and Nagai Go---left in order to patrol the area surrounding the South Gates of Konoha. Standard lookout duty. They were scheduled to report back to Mission Desk at twelve. But..." The unfinished sentence, "But they never made it back," the words hung in the air and left a horrible taste in his mouth.

"Go on, shinobi-san." The ANBU Captain's voice was unusually soft, but the firm command behind the deceptively mild words was unmistakable. They couldn't afford to not give their full attention to the task before them, not while the safety of the village was at risk here.

The chuunin bowed at the subtle reprimand, and shifted his attention back to continue his report. "R-right... A hour after they failed to check in at the appointed time, a team of chuunins was dispatched from HQ. They were supposedly changed shift anyway. It was a hour later we… we've found them." At this, he bit his lip and stared down at the ground.

The ANBU Captain nodded an affirmative. "Good. Go back to the village and give your report to the HQ. We will take care from here," he said, and turned to assess his team. "I want a thorough sweep of this area. That means we're gonna be looking at every nook and cranny, _hell_ every suspicious telltale hole that could help us to catch those bastards who did this." Glancing to the left, the bear masked ANBU addressed the only medic in the squad. "Secure the bodies. Get anything you can collect and destroy what you can't bring."

The badger masked ANBU didn't reply, instead he asked, "Is there a time for me to reassemble the corpses?" Contrary to what the common belief had thought, there was still an incredible amount of information a skilled medical ninja could take from the dead bodies. The deaths _do_ tell tales.

"Take all the time you need," his Captain agreed. Then he raised a hand and prepared to go get it over with. "Go," came the quiet order.

A second later, the space where they had been was suddenly empty, leaving three bewildered chuunins in their absence.

"They sure didn't waste time, didn't they?" one of them asked his team.

"That's their job," answered one of his companions as she took her first step across the rocky field towards the village. "And we've also got job to do."

"Yeah, yeah." Channelling chakra to his legs, the chuunin hurried on ahead, catching up with his team easily and falling in step with them.

If this really _was_ that serious... The sooner they got to the village, the better.

**o---O---o o---O---o o---O---o**

**Author's Notes:**

First, I'd like to apologize for how long it's taken me to get this chapter done. As with the previous one, I've started, re-started and scrapped the entire thing so many times that I got sick just thinking about it... at the very least, this should assure people that the story was NOT dead... it was just hibernating for the winter... and spring, and part of summer.

Please let me know what you think. It's difficult for me to write sometimes and every review spurs me to work as hard as I can on it. Comments and constructive criticisms are appreciated. Suggestions and requests will also be taken into account, but this doesn't mean that I will use all of them. Don't hesitate to tell me if I did a lousy work. m(.. ..)m

**o---O---o o---O---o o---O---o**

**_REQUEST CLOSED! THANK YOU, GUYS!!_**


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